Ecofungicides as growth stimulants in Lactuca sativa L.

Abstract

Lactuca sativa commonly known as lettuce is a food that provides few calories due to its high water content and fewer carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The main problem with this crop is that during its cycle it is attacked by a range of fungi (Fusarium spp., Pythium sp., Alternaria alternata., among others) and bacteria (Erwinia sp, Burkholderia sp, among others); this leads to excess use of pesticides, economic losses and damage to the environment. Therefore, sustainable control strategies are sought to mitigate the spread of diseases and stimulate the optimal development of the plant. Ecofungicides were made based in: Ricinus communis “higuerilla”; Chamaemelum nobile “manzanilla” with Allium sativum “ajo”; Ruta graveolens “ruda”; as well as Bordeaux broth as a craft product and a synthetic product. The randomized complete block experimental design and the Tukey multiple means comparison (p≤0.05) showed tha in Ricinus communis based ecofungicide favors, on average, the height per plant (18.89 cm), the diameter per plant (36.29 cm); the number of leaves per plant (15.50 cm), the leaf width (19.85), the leaf length (17.76 cm) and therefore, a final weight of 1.43 kg per healthy plant was reported. It´s concluded that higuerilla treatment at a dose of 0.33 ml in 1 liter of water increases the productivity of Lactuca sativa L. and decreases the incidence of phytopathogenic fungi.