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Comparison of
some yield and quality criteria in organically and
conventionally-grown lettuce
Polat E.*, Demir H. and Onus A. N
Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Akdeniz
University, 07058, Antalya, Turkey.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
polat@akdeniz.edu.tr.
Accepted 17 January, 2008 |
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The simplest definition organic farming is a production
system, which excludes synthetic inputs and resorts to
external inputs only where the system cannot be sustained by
internal recycling. Recent studies comparing conventional
and organic farming have shown an increase in organic
matter, nutrient content, and microbial biomass in
organically managed soils. The present study was undertaken
to evaluate how conventional and organic farming systems
affected the yield and some quality properties of lettuce by
investigating the effects of some natural substances (blood
flour, manure, liquid seaweed extract etc.) on yield,
quality and nutrient content of organically versus
conventionally-grown lettuces. As a conclusion, results of
both years showed that the conventional growing had higher
yield than organic growing, respectively 20% in total
yield and 21% in marketable yield. On the other hand there
was no difference in terms of food nutrition value and
quality and that is why it is possible to recommend organic
lettuce growing as it has much more positive effects on
human health.
Key words:
Organic growing, conventional growing, lettuce, yield,
quality. |
