Variations in Bioactive Substance Contents and Crop Yields of Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) Cultivated in Soils with Different Fertilization Treatments

Abstract

Changes in crop yields and bioactive substance contents were studied in lettuce crop concerning the influence of soil nutritional status as a result of compost and vermicompost additions obtained from different organic substrates. Plant productions and main pigment contents in lettuce were higher In all the fertilized soils than in the untreated soil, with the exception of the one treated with urban solid waste compost. These positive effects correlate with nitrogen level increase in soil. However, the high saline input of this compost prepared from food home wastes interferes in lettuce growth and prevents it from being higher than the control. Marked decreases in lettuce phenolic contents and antiradical activity were found in most of the treatments. Composts and vermicomposts produced through the processing of cattle manures, agro-industrial organic wastes significantly increased lettuce crop yield enriching its pigment contents, although, in some cases, antioxidant value and phenolic levels were reduced.