This study was carried out in greenhouse to evaluate the performance of different cultivars of lettuce under saline conditions. The experimental design was a completely randomized in factorial scheme, with five cultivars of lettuce (Mônica SF31, Grandes Lagos 659, Veneranda, Folha Roxa Quatro Estações e Stella) and five levels of water salinity (0.5 , 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 dS m-1) and three replications. The plants were harvested at 35 days after transplanting and the main morphophysiological growth parameters, that is, the number of leaves, leaf area, stem length, fresh weight and dry weight of plants were evaluated. Significant effect of the isolated factors and of the interaction for all parameters was found. The best performance was obtained in cultivar Folha Roxa Quatro Estações. The number of leaves, leaf area and biomass of shoots were reduced linearly with increasing salinity, with higher values in cultivars Folha Roxa Quatro Estações and Stella.
Lactuca sativa L.; saline stress; water resources
