Abstract:
Lettuce Lactuca sativa l. is considered the most consumed leafy vegetable in Brazil,
being a crop of great food and economic importance. So there is a diversity of
varieties. The most used method is the plastic tray system followed by transplanting
to flowerbeds, which result in more vigorous and productive plants. A quality
substrate must contain good physical, chemical and biological characteristics. In this
sense, the present work aimed to evaluate the development of lettuce seedlings of
the American cultivar, planted in trays, as a function of four different types of
substrates and a control. The evaluated variables were: plant height (PH), number of
leaves (NL), stem diameter (SD), root stability (RS) and root length (RL). T2 and T3
had better results, when it comes to plant height and number of leaves, while T5 had
the least satisfactory result compared to the others in these areas.