Agronomic characteristics and quality of lettuce cultivars in different crop seasons in western Alagoas, Brazil

ABSTRACT Growing lettuce under high temperatures and light incidence, as in the Alagoas State hinterland, Brazil, induces early tasseling and decreases the quality of the product. Thus, the objective of this work was to evaluate the production and post-harvest quality of lettuce cultivars in different crop seasons in western Alagoas, Brazil. A randomized block experimental design was used, with four replications. The treatments consisted of lettuce cultivars: Baba-de-Verão, Cinderela, Elba, Mônica, Solaris, and Veneranda. The winter crop was more favorable for plant diameter, except for Baba-de-Verão, whose performance was similar in both seasons and stood out in the summer. The winter crop resulted in better performance in plant height, stem diameter, and fresh matter yield, whereas summer plants reached larger number of leaves. The cultivar Mônica presented longer stem length, denoting lower tolerance to early tasseling and, therefore, it is not indicated to be grown in the region. The cultivar Baba-de-Verão (Lisa group) reached higher fresh matter yield, number of leaves per plant, and stem diameter, and it was the most adequate cultivar to be grown in western Alagoas. Elba, Solaris, and Veneranda were the lettuce cultivars from the Crespa group that stood out. Baba-de-Verão was the cultivar that presented the best performance for chlorophyll a, b, and total. The cultivar Solaris presented the highest carotenoid contents. Plants grown in the winter reached higher chlorophyll a and total, carotenoid contents, pH, and soluble solid (SS) to titratable acidity (TA) ratio, whereas the lettuce grown in the summer had higher SS and TA. RESUMO A alface, quando produzida em altas temperaturas e elevada luminosidade, como as encontradas no Sertão Alagoano, é induzida ao pendoamento precoce e à baixa qualidade. Em função disso, o objetivo foi avaliar a produção e a qualidade pós-colheita de cultivares de alface em função de épocas de cultivo distintas no oeste do Estado de Alagoas. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos ao acaso, com quatro repetições, sendo os tratamentos referentes às cultivares Babá-de-Verão, Cinderela, Elba, Mônica, Solaris e Veneranda. Para diâmetro de planta, o cultivo de inverno foi mais favorável, com exceção da Babá-de-Verão que manteve o desempenho semelhante nas duas épocas e destaque da cultivar no verão. O cultivo de inverno proporcionou melhor desempenho de altura de planta, diâmetro de caule e produtividade de massa verde, enquan