What are the environmental requirements for lettuce? The latest key growing points
Lettuce is one of the most common leafy green vegetables in our daily lives. Both the tender leaves and the heart of the lettuce can be eaten raw, which is how lettuce got its name. Nowadays, when people eat barbecue or hot pot, lettuce is almost an essential vegetable. Therefore, the lettuce market is growing larger and larger, and more and more people are growing it now. However, growing lettuce has certain requirements for environmental conditions. Below, let us walk you through the environmental requirements for lettuce!
1. Temperature
Lettuce is not suited to growing in high-temperature environments; it is a vegetable that prefers cool conditions and tolerates frost. After sowing, it can germinate as long as the temperature is kept above 5 degrees, and the most suitable germination temperature is around 18 degrees. If it is below 15 degrees, the germination speed will be affected to some extent, and germination will be uneven, with some early and some late. If it is above 30 degrees, the seed coat is hard and the germination rate decreases. After germination, the growing temperature must not be lower than 12 degrees, though the lowest temperature the seedlings can withstand is around 4 degrees. If it is above 22 degrees, lettuce is very prone to early bolting, which reduces yield and quality. Overall, throughout the entire growth period of lettuce, keeping the temperature at 18-22 degrees is sufficient.
2. Light
Lettuce has a relatively high demand for light. During cultivation, sufficient light must be ensured. If light is insufficient, the growth of lettuce will be greatly hindered, the leaves will be thin and slender, the head will not be compact enough, and the yield will be reduced. Therefore, when planting, we should pay attention to planting density; it should not be planted too densely, to prevent affecting the lettuce's absorption of light and causing it to grow only leaves without forming heads. However, light should not be too intense either. If the inner leaves are exposed to direct sunlight, the heading rate will also decrease. So in summer, shade work should also be done well, and management should be strengthened to ensure planting benefits.
3. Water
Lettuce's roots are not distributed deep, and its leaves have a relatively large area, so water evaporates fairly quickly, and lettuce is quite sensitive to the moisture content of the surface soil. Therefore, throughout the entire growth period of lettuce, sufficient water must be ensured, though lettuce has different water requirements at different growth stages. For example, during the seedling stage, water should not be too much, to prevent the seedlings from aging and to prevent excessive vegetative growth. During the heading stage, sufficient water must be ensured; insufficient water will reduce lettuce quality, resulting in small heads and a bitter taste. After heading, water should be controlled to prevent excessive water from causing the heads to split.
4. Nutrition
Lettuce's nutrient absorption capacity is not strong, and it has relatively high requirements for soil oxygen content. Therefore, when choosing a planting site, we should choose sandy soil with high terrain, normal drainage and irrigation, sufficient fertility, and strong permeability. The content of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium elements in the soil is very important for the growth of lettuce. Moreover, because lettuce has a short growth cycle and high yield, its demand for nutrients is very large, so we must ensure sufficient nutrition during cultivation. In addition to increasing the use of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers, calcium, magnesium, and other trace fertilizers should also be supplemented appropriately. A lack of any one nutrient will affect the growth of lettuce and cause various problems.
The above is a brief introduction to the environmental requirements of lettuce. It should be noted that when choosing soil, we cannot choose plots with heavy rainfall and hollows. Otherwise, water is very likely to accumulate, causing lettuce root rot and decay, and triggering downy mildew, root rot, and other diseases and pests. This seriously harms the growth of lettuce, leading to reduced yield and lower quality. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you for reading and supporting us.