Influence of transplant size on the above- and below-ground performance of four contrasting field-grown lettuce cultivars.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Modern lettuce cultivars underperform under conditions of variable temporal and spatial resource availability, common in organic or low-input production systems. Information is scarce on the impact of below-ground traits on such resource acquisition and performance of field-grown lettuce; exploring genetic variation in such traits might contribute to strategies to select for robust cultivars, i.e., cultivars that perform well in the field, even under stress.

Methods

To investigate the impact of below-ground (root development and resource capture) on above-ground (shoot weight, leaf area) traits, different combinations of shoot and root growth were created using transplants of different sizes in three field experiments. Genetic variation in morphological a

SUBMITTER: Kerbiriou PJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3784774 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature