Improvement of the agricultural productivity of lettuce and radish by using efficient microorganisms

Abstract

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the application of efficient microorganisms (EM) on the productive performance of lettuce and radish. The experiment was carried out in an organoponic culture in the municipality of Matanzas, Cuba, from December 2017 to January 2018. Five treatments were studied: control (0), EM 8 mL m-2 at 0 days after the transplant (DAT) (EM 8-0), EM 8 mL m-2 at 15 DAT (EM 8-15), EM 10 mL m-2 at 0 DAT (EM 10-0), and EM 10 mL m-2 at 15 DAT (EM 10-15). A randomized complete block design was set with four replications per treatment. An ANOVA was applied to perform the statistical data analysis, and the Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (P<0.05) was used for the comparison of means. The statistic program used was STATISTICA, version 6.0 over Windows. The parameters evaluated in lettuce were the total number of leaves, number of commercial leaves, the diameter of leaf rosette, and yield. The evaluated parameters for radish were fleshy root’s diameter and weight, and yield. The results indicated a positive effect on growth-response with the application of the bio-product, which can be considered a promissory alternative for vegetable production in organoponic garden conditions. The application of EM 10 mL m-2 at 0 and 15 DAT showed the best productive behavior for both crops.