Vol. 9, Special Issue 10, Part P (2025)

The present study was conducted at the Instructional-Cum-Research Farm, Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture, Latur, V.N.M.K.V., Parbhani, during the Rabi season of 2024-2025. The field experiment followed a Factorial Randomized Block Design (FRBD) with three replications. The treatments consisted of three nitrogen levels: N1 (100 kg N/ha), N2 (125 kg N/ha), and N3 (150 kg N/ha), combined with three plant spacings: S1 (30 × 15 cm), S2 (30 × 30 cm), and S3 (45 × 30 cm). This resulted in nine treatment combinations applied in a factorial arrangement. The lettuce variety ‘Iceberg’ was selected for the study. The experiment aimed to evaluate the impact of planting spacing and nitrogen levels on the growth, yield, and quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). The key findings from the treatments are summarized below.
Nitrogen application had a significant influence on several growth and quality parameters of lettuce, including plant height (19.02 cm), fresh leaf weight per plant (23.51 g), dry matter content (2.93%), fiber content (2.23%), and chlorophyll concentration (45.38 mg/100g) at the N2 level (125 kg N/ha). However, nitrogen did not significantly affect the number of leaves per plant (14.70), leaf area (289.14 cm²), yield per plant (288.82 g), yield per plot (4.95 kg), gross yield (81.92 q/ha), marketable yield (81.61 q/ha), or the incidence of thrips (11.92%) and mosaic disease (8.14%).
Planting spacing also had a notable effect on various traits at the S2 spacing level (30 × 30 cm), including plant height (19.18 cm), fresh leaf weight per plant (25.31 g), yield per plant (293.28 g), yield per plot (5.09 kg), gross yield (84.27 q/ha), marketable yield (83.74 q/ha), fiber content (2.19%), chlorophyll concentration (45.40 mg/100g), and the incidence of thrips (11.29%) and mosaic disease (8.06%). In contrast, spacing had no significant impact on the number of leaves per plant (14.48), leaf area (312.71 cm²), or dry matter content (2.89%).
In conclusion, both nitrogen application and planting spacing significantly influenced the growth, yield, and quality of lettuce during the Rabi season. The combination of 125 kg N/ha with a planting spacing of 30 × 30 cm proved to be the most effective strategy for maximizing lettuce performance in the Marathwada region.