Comparison of growth and yield of lettuce cultivars grown with different liquid feeds in perlite, pumice and cocopeat

This experiment was carried out in a cold greenhouse to compare the growth and yield of lettuce varieties grown in perlite, pumice and cocopeat, with different nutrient solutions. In the experiment, 3 root medium (Cocopeat, Perlite and pumice), 2 varities (Leaf lettuce Aleyna curly variety Lactuva sativa var. crispa and head lettuce Bombola variety Lactuca sativa var. capitata) and 2 hydroponic solutions (Department solution and New Zeland solution) were used. There were 12 factorial combinations and also soil parcels for each variety were included in the study as a control. Accordingly, 14 subjects were arranged in two blocks according to randomized block design. Two plants were kept in each parcel in hydroponic root mediums. There were 24×2=48 plants for hydroponic subjects in the soil parcels 10 plants in each parcel, 4 parcels ×10 =40 plants in two blocks, and 88 plants in total were grown. As a result, Bombola formed more leaves than the Aleyna variety in terms of the main effect of the variety, but there was no difference between the varieties in terms of plant weight. There was no statistical difference between the effects of different solutions on the number of leaves and plant weight. In terms of root medium, cocopeat and pumice gave better results than perlite. However, not only the yield but also the cost of these root medium should be taken into account when choosing. The m3 prices of these root mediums in January, 2021 are as follows: cocopeat is 2000 TL, perlite 1000 TL, pumice is 500 TL. Accordingly, the most suitable medium is pumice, then perlite and not recommended medium is cocopeat, which is a very expensive imported product. The one to be recommended among the varieties is Bombola, which gives better results than Aleyna. Accordingly, the most suitable medium is pumice, then perlite and not recommended medium is cocopeat, which is a very expensive imported product. Another disadvantage of cocopeat is that it causes internal tipburn in lettuce.