Adaptability of Lettuce (<i>Lactuca sativa</i> L.) Varieties in South Gondar, Ethiopia

Abstract

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the most popular salad crops and occupies the largest production area among salad crops in the world. However, production of lettuce can be limited due to lack of improved varieties for different agroecologies. Adaptable high yielder released lettuce varieties were not identified for farmers of Fogera and Libokemkem districts in Northwestern Ethiopia. A field study was conducted at Fogera and Libokemkem districts in 2020 and 2021 to evaluate the yield and yield components of released lettuce varieties at rain fed condition. Two lettuce varieties were used as a treatment viz: RSK-3 and Tesfa. The treatments were laid out in Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications. The analysis of variance revealed that there was a highly significant difference (P<0.01) between locations on stand count, head diameter, leaf length, number of leaves per plant and fresh leaves yield of lettuce varieties. The highest yield was recorded from Tesfa variety at both locations. The higher leaf yield of Tesfa (34.15 ton/ha) and RSK-3(26.8ton/ha) was obtained at Libokemekem than Fogera district Tesfa (3.89ton/ha) and RSK-3(3.67ton/ha). Therefore, Tesfa variety of lettuce could be recommended for both Fogera and Libokemkem districts.