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The effects of soil type on the early growth of lettuce

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

P. A. Costigan
P. A. Costigan
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
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Summary

Large and consistent differences in growth rate of lettuce on different soils were recorded in two consecutive experiments in which lettuce cv. Avondefiance was grown for about 4 weeks in miniplots of 13 different soils. The miniplots were 20 cm in diameter and 20 cm deep and were buried flush with the soil surface at a single site. Each soil received the recommended amount of fertilizer and only seedlings emerging on a particular day were allowed to grow on. The relative performance of the different soils was very similar in each of the experiments with the plants in the best soil being 2·2–3·3 times heavier than those on the worst soil by the end of the experiments. The relative growth rates (RGR) of the plants were positively correlated with % P in the plants (accounting for 44–68% of the variation in RGR) and in turn with the availability of P in the soil. There was also a negative effect of soil organic matter on RGR, acting independently of % P, so that a multiple regression with % P and organic matter accounted for 65% of the variance of RGR in Expt 1 and 75% in Expt 2. Soil solution phosphorus appeared to be a useful measure for assessing phosphorus availability as plant growth was reduced only when concentrations fell below about 1 μg/ml.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 107 , Issue 1 , August 1986 , pp. 1 - 8
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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References

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