Effect of Planting Method and Seeding Date on Leaf and Seed Production of Lettuce

Aim: The objective of this study is to identify the suitable planting method and seeding time for leaf and seed production of lettuce.

Place and Duration: A field study was carried out in Bangadandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Agricultural University (BSMRAU), Gazipur Bangladesh during 2012-13.

Materials and Design: A commercial lettuce variety BSMRAU lettuce-1 was used in this study. The experiment was laid out in a randomized complete block design with three replications and two factors, namely planting method (M1 – transplanted seedling produced on nursery bed, M2 - transplanted seedling produced in polybag and M3 - direct seeding) and seeding time (T1 - 16 October, T2 - 1 November, T3 - 16 November, T4 - 1 December and T5 - 16 December).

Results: Analyses of variance revealed with a statistically significant variation (p<0.01 or p<0.05) among the treatments. The treatment interaction revealed that the highest leaf yield 27.33 t/ha was harvested from M3T2, which was statistically similar with M2T2 (26.78 t/ha). On the other hand, the highest seed yield 412.00 kg/ha was harvested from the treatment combination of M3T2, which was statistically different from all other treatment combinations. Quality traits viz. dry matter content, fiber content and organoleptic test were also better in early seeding.

Conclusion: Considering leaf yield, seed yield and quality traits, direct seeding at 1 November was found to be the most suitable treatment combination for leaf and seed production of lettuce in Bangladesh conditions. But transplanting with polybag raised seedlings may be suitable if the land is occupied by the pervious crops.