A field experiment was carried out in ''Capão da Onça'' School Farm, at the Universidade Estadual de Ponta Grossa in Brazil. The effect of the protection of an spunbonded polypropylene non woven fabric on the development, quality and yield of three lettuce cultivars, transplanted during the winter of 1998 was studied. The experimental design was of complete randomized blocks, displayed in a factorial scheme 3x2 (cultivars x crop system), with five replications. The cultivars were Tainá, Elisa and Verônica growing under non woven polypropylene protection (PP) and environmental conditions (EC). Greater head fresh weight was observed on woven protected plants. Increased leaf area index (LAI) was observed for 'Tainá' and 'Verônica', with consequent increase of biomass in row cover plants. 'Elisa' showed etiolate leafs, that lost rapidly the turgidity after harvesting. It is possible that the radiation levels under PP were bellow of the saturated photosynthetic point for cv. Elisa. The use the non woven protection for cv. Verônica and cv. Tainá, during winter season of Ponta Grossa's region is recommended, due to the fact that these plants presented heads with excellent quality and commercial weight.
Lactuca sativa L.; protected cultivation; polypropylene; etiolation; row cover
