Evaluation of Newly Introduced Leaf Lettuce Genotypes under Mid Hills Conditions of Solan District of Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

Lettuce is one of the major leafy vegetables used in salads, soups and occasionally lightly cooked. Leaf lettuce has garnered a central role in human nutrition, as it combines pleasing organoleptic properties with a rich content of nutraceutical compounds. Leaf lettuce can bring about a diversification in the tomato/bell pepper production system in the summer season. The cultivation of lettuce has already started picking up in Himachal Pradesh in summers. The produce from hilly areas are available at time when these cannot be grown in the plains due to high temperature, thus bringing lucrative returns to the growers. Twenty two diverse genotypes of lettuce were evaluated in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications at KVK, Kandaghat, including standard check cultivar, Solan Kriti, to ascertain the extent of variability. The observations were recorded on various morphological and horticultural traits in leaf lettuce. On the basis of studies, it was concluded that genotypes viz., KGT-1, Lettuce C1, KGT-5 and LS-2 Selection-3, performed better in terms of yield and other horticultural traits over the standard check, Solan Kriti. So, these genotypes offer an ample scope for their release in the mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh after multilocational testing.