Plug Cell Volume, Main Temperature and the Synthetic Cytokinin 6, Benzyl Aminopurine (BAP) Spray on Lettuce Biomass Accumulation during Nursery at Ambient Temperatures

Abstract

Although nursery lettuce information is plentiful, the use of exogenous cytokinin (6, benzyl amino purine, BAP) as a plant growth regulator, which would increase vegetable nursery yield has only recent suggested. On the other hand, biomass relationships between plug cell volumes, BAP uses and main temperature during nursery is quite scarce. Our results showed that the growth response of lettuce seedlings during nursery is firstly related to mean air temperature, independently the environmental characteristics of the cultivar tested. From the view of a nursery grower, yield can be optimize when higher plug cell number per tray was used or a BAP spray was applied to limited plug trays (128- or 288-cells). One of the novelty result of this work reside in the objective protocol proposed (the marginal root dry weight accumulation rate) to decide the time to transplant. Finally, our results showed that plug purchaser would be change their visual criteria when they buy BAP-treated lettuce for increased field yield.