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Seasonal effects on the growth and time to maturity of lettuce

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. Gray  and
G. E. L. Morris
D. Gray
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, U.K.
G. E. L. Morris
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, U.K.
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Summary

The increase in dry weight of field lettuce from sowings made between March and August in 1973 and 1974 started exponentially but this did not persist throughout growth. Departures from exponential growth were most marked in the 10 days of growth prior to maturity and a logistic rather than an exponential curve gave a better overall fit to the data. The rates of increase in plant dry weight were similar from all sowings made between mid-May and early to mid-July, when air temperatures and total radiation during the growth period of these crops exceeded 11–12 °C and 250 mWh/cm2, respectively. Sowings made earlier than mid-May took longer to mature and in 1973 gave crops with lighter heads. Quadratic regressions of harvest date on sowing date gave good fits to data obtained in different years at different sites but separate equations were required for each site.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 91 , Issue 3 , December 1978 , pp. 523 - 529
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1978

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