Effect of intercropping and ground adding of seaweed extracts on growth and yield of lettuce plant (Lactuca sativus L.)‎

Abstract EN

The experiment was conducted in the vegetable field belonging to the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Gardening, College of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Mosul in the agricultural season of (2018-2019), to study the effect of intercropping by cultivating broad bean plants with lettuce plants and monoculture by cultivating lettuce plants only and adding seaweed extracts (Acadian, Alga zone and Phyllgreen mira, and Ultra-Kelp 40) at a concentration of (6ml.

L-1) and for all extracts in addition to the control treatment (urea fertilizer at a rate of 200 kg.

ha-1).

The split-plot system was applied once according to the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD), with three replicates, the cultivation pattern was placed in the main-plot and other treatments were placed in the sub-plot.

The results can be summarized as follows: The monoculture pattern was significantly excelled in the perimeter of the head, the number of leaves per plant, length, and weight of the stem, percentage of wrapped heads% , total weight of the head, the marketing weight of the head, marketing yield of heads with an increase of 70.60% and total yield of heads, with an increase of 91.86% compared to intercropping.

The addition of urea fertilizer was significantly excelled in head length, the perimeter of the head, number of leaves per plant, stem length, stem weight, the total weight of the head, marketing weight of the head, marketing yield of heads, and total yield of the head.

The addition of seaweed extract (Phyllgreen mira) has excelled only in the percentage of wrapped heads.

As for the interaction among the cultivation pattern and the addition of seaweed extracts and urea, the interaction between the addition of urea and monoculture was significantly excelled in all the traits under study.