With the objective to assess the development of lettuce and activity of the microorganisms under different managements of land cover and sources of fertilization, an experiment in a randomized block design in a factorial arrangement with split plots (5 x 3) and three replications was conducted at the Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Câmpus Dois Vizinhos, during the period from May 2010 to January 2011. The cover crop was oat, under no tillage system; conventional tillage; whole straw via external addition on the bed; chopped straw via external addition on the bed and a system without the use of straw. For fertilization organic compost and chemical fertilizer were used and a control plot without fertilization. The number of leaves per plant, stem diameter and aerial part, mass of fresh matter, yield of fresh and dry matter, as well as the activity of soil microorganisms were determined. In the first cycle the lettuce crop was not influenced by different managements land cover and nutrient sources. The organic fertilizer promoted greater number of leaves, in the second cultivation. The maintenance of the soil cover and organic compound promotes greater microbial activity over time
Lactuca sativa; soil management; poultry manure; productivity
