Morphological features and productivity of cutting lettuce varieties (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L. var. <i>secalina</i>) of Dutch breeding in the northern part of the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine

Abstract

Purpose. To investigate the variability of biometrics indices and productivity of cutting lettuce varietis (Lactuca sativa L. var. secalina) of Dutch breeding on soddy medium podzolic soil in the northern part of the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine.Methods. Field, biometric, comparative, statistical ones, generalizations. Results. The results obtained during the study of peculiarities of forming productive organs of cutting lettuce varieties ‘Ketoniia’, ‘Ruxai’, ‘Locarno’, ‘Vinteks’, ‘Explor’, ‘Aquino’, ‘Gauguin’, ‘Affinia’ and ‘Concord’ of Dutch breeding on soddy medium podzolic soil in the northern part of the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine are given. According to evaluation of cutting lettuce varieties on adaptation to varied environment, it was established that the leaf rosette height varied from 13,7 to 22,3 cm; the leaf rosette diameter – from 24,8 to 33,6 cm; the number of leaves per plant – from 23,2 to 109,9 pcs/plant; the average leaf area – from 36,3 to 122,3 cm2; leaf area per plant – from 1963 to 5033cm2/plant; the average weight of a plant – from 0,215 to 0,480 kg. The highest estimated yield was obtained when ‘Explor’ and ‘Ketoniia’ cutting lettuce varieties were growing – 42,7 and 37,4 t/ha respectively, which significantly exceeded the control by 8,7 and 3,4 t/ha. A strong correlation between the leaf rosette diameter and plant height (r = 0,8) was revealed in investigated cutting lettuce varieties at the time of harvesting. There is also a strong correlation between the plant height and the average area of the leaf and the number of leaves per plant and the average area of the leaf with the coefficients r = 0,803 і r = 0,762 respectively.Conclusions. Comprehensive assessment of the produc­tivity traits of nine cutting lettuce varieties of Dutch breeding on soddy medium podzolic soil showed that they are quite suitable for growing in open soil in the northern part of the Forest-Steppe zone of Ukraine. It was established that the formation of the commercial yield of cutting lettuce largely depends on varietal characteristics.