Examining phosphorus use efficiency across different lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) accessions

• Published in: Euphytica Vol. 218; no. 3
• Main Authors: Kreutz, Gustavo F., Bhadha, Jehangir H., Sandoya, Germán V.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.03.2022; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biotechnology; Cultivars; Fertilizers; Field tests; Growing season; Lactuca sativa; Leaves; Life Sciences; Marketability; Organic soils; Phosphorus; Phosphorus pentoxide; Plant breeding; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant Pathology; Plant Physiology; Plant Sciences; Production costs; Reduction; Soils; Solar radiation; Sustainable practices; Vegetables; Weight; Vegetables; Everglades Agricultural Area; Nutrient use efficiency; Muck soils; Breeding; Yield; Histosols
• DOI: 10.1007/s10681-022-02973-6
• ISSN: 0014-2336

Most agricultural soils worldwide have limited availability of phosphorus (P); thus, crops require supplemental application of P fertilizers. Due to the economic and environmental concerns derived from the use of P fertilizers, identifying and breeding P-efficient lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.) cultivars is imperative for the reduction of production costs and implementation of more sustainable practices. Phosphorus use efficiency (PUE) remains unexplored in lettuce. In this research, 66 lettuce accessions of six morphological types were evaluated under the standard recommended P rate (202 kg·ha –1 of P 2 O 5 ) and half-P rate (101 kg·ha –1 of P 2 O 5 ). Lettuce accessions were tested in two field experiments conducted during the 2017–2018 and 2019–2020 growing seasons in the organic soils (Histosols) in the Everglades Agricultural Area of South Florida. Head weight, marketability, tissue P concentration, soil total P concentration, and soil extractable P were measured. P-efficient lettuce accessions were identified within romaine, crisphead, butterhead, Latin, and loose leaf types. Eighteen accessions were found to produce similar head weight under both half-P rate and standard-P rate conditions. Significant accession × experiment and P rate × experiment interactions were observed likely due to differences in solar radiation and weed incidence in both experiments. Marketability of loose leaf accessions was less affected by the 50% reduction in P application. Twenty-two accessions produced similar number of marketable heads under both P treatments. More comprehensive investigations must be conducted to elucidate the genetic mechanisms controlling PUE in lettuce.