Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T23:53:22.180Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The influence of plant raising conditions on the head weight of crisp lettuce at maturity

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. C. E. Wurr  and
Jane R. Fellows
D. C. E. Wurr
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Waruick, CV35 9EF
Jane R. Fellows
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Waruick, CV35 9EF
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Two experiments investigated the effects of raising crisp lettuce seedlings under different environmental conditions prior to transplanting, on transplant size and weight and head weight at maturity.

The use of tungsten lighting for 4 h after the end of a 12 h period of fluorescent and tungsten lighting increased transplant size and weight and the weight of heads at maturity compared with fluorescent and tungsten lighting only. Glasshouse-raised transplants were larger than those raised under artificial lighting but gave heads of similar weight to transplants which had supplementary tungsten lighting for 2 weeks. Both these treatments gave significantly heavier heads than a drilled crop or plants raised without supplementary tungsten lighting. Increasing the number of weeks of the supplementary lighting treatment tended to increase the coefficient of variation (c.v.) of head weight. Nevertheless the drilled crop had a higher c.v. of head weight than any transplanted treatment.

The variety Pennlake produced pointed (‘coned’) heads when grown in the open and its leaves were shorter and broader than those of plants grown in polyethylene tunnels, which did not show ‘coning’. It is suggested that ‘coning’ occurs primarily as a result of either lower mean temperatures or a lower amplitude of temperature when grown in the open. It occurred most frequently with glasshouse-raised plants indicating that a higher raising temperature may also contribute to the problem.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 99 , Issue 2 , October 1982 , pp. 417 - 423
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1982

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bensink, J. (1971). On morphogenesis of lettuce leaves in relation to light and temperature. Mededelingen Landbouwhogeschool Wageningen, no. 71–15.Google Scholar
Boa, W., Cox, E. F., Birkenshaw, J. E., Foster, D. K. & Senior, D. (1979). The establishment and yields of vegetable crops grown from blocks designed for automatic transplanting. Experimental Horticulture 31, 26–34.Google Scholar
Dennis, D. J. & Dullforce, w. M. (1974). Analysis of the subsequent growth and development of winter glasshouse lettuce in response to short periods in growth chambers during propagation. Acta Horticulturae 39, 197–218.Google Scholar
Gray, D. (1978). The effect of sowing date on the maturity characteristics of lettuce varieties. Experimental Horticulture 30, 7–14.Google Scholar
Gray, D. & Steckel, J. R. A. (1981). Hearting and mature head characteristics of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) as affected by shading at different periods during growth. Journal of Horticultural Science 56, 199–206.Google Scholar
Krizek, D. T. & Ormrod, D. P. (1980). Growth response of ‘Grand Rapids’ lettuce and ‘First Lady’ Marigold to increased far-red and infra-red radiation under controlled environments. Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science 105, 936–939.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milford, G. F. J. & Lenton, J. R. (1976). Effect of photoperiod on growth of sugar beet. Annals of Botany 40, 1309–1315.Google Scholar
Soffe, R. W., Lenton, J. R. & Milford, G. F. J. (1977). Effects of photoperiod on some egetable species. Annals of Applied Biology 85, 411–415.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whitfield, W. A. D. (1974). The soils of the National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne. Report of the National Vegetable Research Station for 1973, pp. 21–30.Google Scholar
Wurr, D. C. E., Fellows, J. R. & Morris, G. E. L. (1981). Studies of the hearting of butterhead lettuce: temperature effects. Journal of Horticultural Science 56, 211–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar