The use of cover crops has benefits for the chemical, physical and biological properties of the soil. However, together with the need for good vegetable productivity, considerable challenges arise in several regions of Brazil. The preparation of conventional soil for initiating no-tillage systems is necessary to create a management history and assimilate the benefits of the no-tillage system in vegetables, ensuring sustainable production. The objective of this research was to evaluate lettuce yield as a function of different cover crops as a function of resistance to soil penetration. The experiment was conducted in the horticulture sector of the University of Rio Verde, Rio Verde, Goiás, Brazil. The cover crops used were sunflower (Helianthus annuus), sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea), and fallow, and the vegetable used was lettuce (Lactuca sativa). The variables analyzed were plant height and lettuce yield, straw decomposition, and soil resistance to penetration. The collected data were submitted to analysis of variance, and if significant, was compared by Tukey test (p < 0.05) and regression analysis. The lettuce height in the different management systems showed no statistical differences. The decomposition of the straw presented accentuated degradation for the evaluated cover crops and the productivity was bigger in the straw of crotalaria and fallow. Soil resistance for cover crops was not greater than 2 MPa.