DEVELOPMENT OF LACTUCA SATIVA L. COM APPLICATION OF VEGETABLE ASH IN CLAY SOIL

Abstract

The by-products generated by agroindustries have a great potential for reuse due to their high nutritional contents. Organic fertilization alternatives are being sought, especially aimed at the use of waste from local industrial activity, such as vegetable ash, which is a solid waste with considerable potential as a fertilizer. The objective of this study was to evaluate the development of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in clay soil under different doses of vegetable ash. The lettuce seedlings were transplanted in beds inside a tube arch greenhouse, with four treatments and five replications in a completely randomized design. The treatments included T1 - control, without addition of vegetable ash, T2 - 1.7 kg m², T3 - 3.3 kg m² and T4 - 6.7 kg m². After harvest, biometric parameters of the plants were evaluated, such as fresh and dry mass of the root and shoot (commercial and non-commercial), stem diameter and height, and root length. In addition, the pH and the amount of nutrients in the soil were analyzed. The results indicated that vegetable ash, when incorporated into the soil, works as an effective organic fertilizer in lettuce production. The dose of 1.7 kg m² proved to be the most efficient, providing positive results in the biometric parameters, in addition to improving soil quality. This dose corrected soil acidity, increased pH, increased cation exchange capacity (CEC) and base saturation (SB), reduced aluminum levels (Al³⁺), and increased macro and micronutrients.