Lettuce production according to different sources of organic matter and soil cover

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) is one of the leading vegetables produced by farmers in the Itabaiana region, and thus it is important to study means of sustainable management for the crop. The objective of this work was to evaluate the behavior of lettuce with different sources of organic matter and soil cover. Therefore, it was chosen to cultivate Veronica. The experiment was carried out in the experimental field plot of Project Small Farmer—Great Entrepreneur in the municipality of Itabaiana-SE, in 2010. The design was a randomized block design with four replications, with treatments consisting of five sources of organic matter (organic compost, chicken manure, cattle manure, sheep manure, and castor bean) and a control (no fertilizer), all with and without mulch, totaling 12 treatments. We evaluated the characteristics of plant diameter, plant height, fresh and dry root and shoot matter. We also evaluated the influence on the temperature and soil water tension. All productivity characteristics valuated showed the significant interaction between the type of fertilizer and the mulch, except for root dry weight, where only organic manure was a significant factor. When soil mulch was used, the best source of organic matter for growing lettuce was chicken manure, and in the impossibility of using this cover, we recommend the use of organic compost as a source of organic matter, as it showed the best result in the absence of coverage. The cover age also showed good results in relation to a temperature that promoted lower soil water tensions