Comportamiento agronómico de cuatro cultivares de lechuga (Lactuca sativa L.) mediante sistema hidropónico en la zona de Babahoyo, Provincia de Los Ríos

This research work was carried out in the Organic Agriculture Area of the Experimental Farm "San Pablo", Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the Technical University of Babahoyo. The geographical coordinates of the site are: East: 669 097,17 UTM and North: 9'801 368,24 UTM, with an altitude of 8,05 masl, humid tropical climate, annual temperature of 26,2 oC and precipitation of 1815 mm/year. It also has an annual relative humidity of 76% and 702 hours of annual average heliophany. The objective of the research, was to study the agronomic behavior of four cultivars of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) using a hydroponic floating root system (SRF) during a period of 30 days after transplant. For fertilization, the FAO nutritional solution was used, which is made up of two concentrated solutions: Concentrated Solution A, which provides the macronutrients and is applied in doses of 5cc/L of water and Concentrated Solution B, which provides the micronutrients to the plant and is used in doses of 2 cc/L of water. The lettuce cultivars managed were: T1 (Meraviglia Delle Quattro Stagioni), T2 (Romana Parris Island), T3 (Salad Bowl) and T4 (Red Salad Bowl). Each treatment or cultivar consisted of an area of 1 m2 per container and were distributed in a randomized complete block design, grouped into 4 treatments and 3 replications. Tukey's test with 5% significance was used to determine the statistical difference between the means of the treatments. The evaluated data were: Days to germination, percentage of germination, plant height (at 15 and 30 days after transplant) and at the time of harvest (30 days after transplant): Number of leaves per plant, leaf length, length root, weight of lettuce without root, yield (kg/1000 m2) and economic analysis. With the results obtained, it was concluded that the cultivar T1 (Meraviglia Delle Quattro Stagioni), is the one that was best coupled to the floating root hydroponic system (SRF) with the FAO nutritive solution and under the climatic conditions of the Babahoyo area; since it germinated early (in an average of approximately 3 days) and with high percentage of germination (with an average of 95,33%). At harvest, it presented the highest yield among cultivars, with an average of 3091,33 kg/1000 m2 per month. In addition, being considered a gourmet lettuce for its combination of colors between reddish and greenish, it has a very profitable price in the market ($3,45/kg), allowing to achieve excellent profits, as demonstrated by the economic analysis that, in a period 6 months, the initial investment costs were recovered and a profit of $47149,94 was acquired.

This research work was carried out in the Organic Agriculture Area of the Experimental Farm "San Pablo", Faculty of Agricultural Sciences of the Technical University of Babahoyo. The geographical coordinates of the site are: East: 669 097,17 UTM and North: 9'801 368,24 UTM, with an altitude of 8,05 masl, humid tropical climate, annual temperature of 26,2 oC and precipitation of 1815 mm/year. It also has an annual relative humidity of 76% and 702 hours of annual average heliophany. The objective of the research, was to study the agronomic behavior of four cultivars of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) using a hydroponic floating root system (SRF) during a period of 30 days after transplant. For fertilization, the FAO nutritional solution was used, which is made up of two concentrated solutions: Concentrated Solution A, which provides the macronutrients and is applied in doses of 5cc/L of water and Concentrated Solution B, which provides the micronutrients to the plant and is used in doses of 2 cc/L of water. The lettuce cultivars managed were: T1 (Meraviglia Delle Quattro Stagioni), T2 (Romana Parris Island), T3 (Salad Bowl) and T4 (Red Salad Bowl). Each treatment or cultivar consisted of an area of 1 m2 per container and were distributed in a randomized complete block design, grouped into 4 treatments and 3 replications. Tukey's test with 5% significance was used to determine the statistical difference between the means of the treatments. The evaluated data were: Days to germination, percentage of germination, plant height (at 15 and 30 days after transplant) and at the time of harvest (30 days after transplant): Number of leaves per plant, leaf length, length root, weight of lettuce without root, yield (kg/1000 m2) and economic analysis. With the results obtained, it was concluded that the cultivar T1 (Meraviglia Delle Quattro Stagioni), is the one that was best coupled to the floating root hydroponic system (SRF) with the FAO nutritive solution and under the climatic conditions of the Babahoyo area; since it germinated early (in an average of approximately 3 days) and with high percentage of germination (with an average of 95,33%). At harvest, it presented the highest yield among cultivars, with an average of 3091,33 kg/1000 m2 per month. In addition, being considered a gourmet lettuce for its combination of colors between reddish and greenish, it has a very profitable price in the market ($3,45/kg), allowing to achieve excellent profits, as demonstrated by the economic analysis that, in a period 6 months, the initial investment costs were recovered and a profit of $47149,94 was acquired.

El presente trabajo de investigación fue realizado en el Área de Agricultura Orgánica de la Granja Experimental "San Pablo", Facultad de Ciencias de Agropecuarias de la Universidad Técnica de Babahoyo. Las coordenadas geográficas del sitio son: Este: 669097,17 UTM y Norte: 9’801368,24 UTM, con altitud de 8,05 msnm, clima tropical húmedo, temperatura anual de 26,2 oC y precipitación de 1815 mm/año. Cuenta también con una humedad relativa anual del 76% y 702 horas de heliofanía promedio anual. El objetivo de la investigación, fue estudiar el comportamiento agronómico de cuatro cultivares de lechuga (Lactuca sativa L.) mediante sistema hidropónico de raíz flotante (SRF) durante un periodo de 30 ddt. Para la fertilización, se utilizó la solución nutritiva de la FAO, la misma que se compone de dos soluciones concentradas: Solución Concentrada A, que aporta los macronutrientes y se aplica en dosis de 5cc/L de agua y Solución Concentrada B, que brinda los micronutrientes a la planta y se emplea en dosis de 2 cc/L de agua. Los cultivares de lechuga manejados fueron: T1 (Meraviglia Delle Quattro Stagioni), T2 (Romana Parris Island), T3 (Salad Bowl) y T4 (Red Salad Bowl). Cada tratamiento o cultivar constaba de un área de 1 m2 por contenedor y se distribuyeron en un diseño de bloques completos al azar, agrupados en 4 tratamientos y 3 repeticiones. Para determinar la diferencia estadística entre las medias de los tratamientos, se usó la prueba de Tukey con 5% de significancia. Los datos evaluados fueron: Días a la germinación, porcentaje de germinación, altura de planta (a los 15 y 30 ddt) y al momento de la cosecha (30 ddt) se evaluó: Número de hojas por planta, longitud de la hoja, longitud de raíz, peso de la lechuga sin raíz, rendimiento (kg/1000 m2) y el análisis económico. Con los resultados obtenidos, se concluyó que el cultivar T1 (Meraviglia Delle Quattro Stagioni), es el que se acopló de mejor manera al sistema de hidropónico de raíz flotante (SRF) con la solución nutritiva de la FAO y bajo las condiciones climáticas de la zona de Babahoyo; ya que germinó pronto (en un promedio de 3 días aproximadamente) y con alto porcentaje de germinación (con un promedio de 95,33%). A la cosecha, presentó el mayor rendimiento entre cultivares, con un promedio de 3091,33 kg/1000 m2 al mes. Además, al ser considerada una lechuga gourmet por su combinación de colores entre rojizos y verduzcos, tiene un precio muy rentable en el mercado ($3,45/kg), permitiendo conseguir excelentes ganancias, como lo demuestra el análisis económico que, en un lapso de 6 meses, se recuperaron los costos de inversión inicial y se adquirió una utilidad de $47149,94.