Oakes Irrigation Research
Site
Carrington Research Extension Center * North Dakota State University
P.O. Box 531, Oakes, ND 58474-0531, Voice: (701) 742-2189, FAX: (701)
742-2700, email: rgreenla@ndsuext.nodak.edu
LETTUCE HYBRID PERFORMANCE TRIAL, 2000
Richard Greenland, Leonard Besemann, and Heidi Eslinger
Table 31. Lettuce early stand counts and yield
Table 32. Quality characteristics of lettuce
We are just beginning to experiment with lettuce. There appears to be some good possibilities for markets. Disease, bitterness of the lettuce, and some other problems need to be resolved before it can be commercially produced in North Dakota.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
| Soil: | Embden sandy loam and Hecla sandy loam; pH=6.8; 2.4% organic matter; soil-P was very high; soil-K was high; soil-S was very high. |
| Previous crops: | 1999 - field corn; 1998 - carrot; 1997 - pepper. |
| Seedbed preparation: | Disked on 29 October 1999. Multiweeded (field cultivated) once on April 4 and twice on April 18 to incorporate herbicide/fertilizer and smooth seedbed. |
| Fertilizer: | On April 4, broadcast 18 lbs N/acre and 20 lbs S/acre as 21-0-0-24. Sprayed 50 lbs N/acre as 28-0-0 on April 17. |
| Planting: | Direct seeded lettuce on April 24 in 16" rows with a Stanhay vegetable planter modified to drill barley (1 bu/acre, 6-inch rows) between and parallel to the lettuce rows. Seeds were placed ¼ to ½ inches deep into a flat, fine seedbed. Lettuce was overplanted, then thinned to an in-row spacing of one plant every 8" on June 2 or June 8. |
| Plots: | Each plot was two rows (3 ft) by 17 ft long. |
| Irrigation: | Surface drip irrigation as needed. |
| Pest Control: | Weeds were controlled using Balan (2 lbs/acre applied preplant incorporated on April 18), Fusilade + NIS (12 oz/acre + 1 pt/25 gal on May 22), and by hand weeding. |
| Harvest: | Lettuce was harvested July 7 and July 10. |
Sierra had the highest yields, the best quality, and the best taste. Dark Lollo Rossa was small, red, and pretty, but had a very bitter taste. Crispino had trouble forming a head before it turned rotten. Additional fungicide sprays may have helped. New Red Fire had the highest percentage of marketable heads, but some heads had a bitter taste.
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Table 31. Lettuce early stand counts and yield in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2000 lettuce performance trial.
| Variety | Seed source1 | Early stand | Marketable | Total | % Marketable | Head size | |||
| heads | yield | heads | yield | heads | yield | ||||
| -- 1000s/acre -- | tons/acre | 1000s/acre | tons/acre | ------ % ------ | oz/head | ||||
| Dark Lollo Rossa | JS | 8.0 | 52.6 | 2.2 b2 | 92.5 | 3.0 b | 60 | 75 ab | 1.5 |
| Sierra | ## | 8.3 | 52.6 | 12.6 a | 79.8 | 13.5 a | 65 | 94 a | 9.0 |
| Crispino | ## | 8.8 | 36.3 | 7.1 ab | 103.4 | 10.8 a | 35 | 58 b | 6.7 |
| New Red Fire | AT | 8.5 | 39.9 | 6.6 b | 50.8 | 7.0 ab | 80 | 92 a | 5.0 |
| C.V. (%) | 8 | 41 | 50 | 33 | 48 | 34 | 15 | 63 | |
| Probability | 0.49 | 0.50 | 0.02 | 0.12 | 0.03 | 0.12 | 0.02 | 0.07 | |
1See Appendix A for seed source codes.
2Values in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level. No letters after values means no significant differences between values in that column.
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Table 32. Quality characteristics of lettuce in the Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2000 lettuce performance trial.
| Variety | Seed source1 | Leaf color2 | Leaf bright- ness3 |
Leaf curli- ness4 |
Head height | Head width | Head tight- ness5 |
Growth habit6 | Uni- formity |
Overall score |
| 1 to 10 | 1 to 5 | 1 to 5 | --- inches --- | 1 to 5 | 1 to 5 | 1 to 5 | 1 to 10 | |||
| Dark Lollo Rossa | JS | 8.0 b | 2.0 | 3.8 a | 4.3 c | 6.6 | 4.8 | 3.1 b | 1.5 b | 5.8 |
| Sierra | ## | 2.3 c | 1.6 | 1.4 b | 9.5 a | 12.1 | 3.4 | 4.8 a | 2.8 a | 6.8 |
| Crispino | ## | 1.5 d | 1.5 | 1.9 b | 6.9 b | 10.5 | 4.0 | 2.9 b | 1.8 b | 5.8 |
| New Red Fire | AT | 8.8 a | 1.4 | 3.3 a | 7.7 b | 11.9 | 4.8 | 2.5 b | 2.4 ab | 6.3 |
| C.V. (%) | 7 | 62 | 32 | 12 | 34 | 17 | 16 | 28 | 9 | |
| Probability | 0.0001 | 0.83 | 0.008 | 0.0001 | 0.17 | 0.07 | 0.001 | 0.049 | 0.096 | |
1See Appendix A for seed source codes.
2Leaf color (1 to 10): 1 to 4 is light to dark green; 5 to 9 are shades of red; 10 is green leaves with red tips.
3Leaf brightness (1 to 5): 1 = dull; 5 = bright.
4Leaf curliness (1 to 5): 1 = flat; 5 = very curly.
5Head tightness (1 to 5): 1 = tight; 5 = loose.
6Growth habit (1 to 5): 1 is open or flat; 5 is upright.
7Values in the same column followed by the same letter are not significantly different at the 0.05 level. No letters after values means no significant differences between values in that column.
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Go to Oakes Irrigation Research Site Variety Performance Trials
Go to Oakes Irrigation Research Site 2000 annual report