Growth Models for Lettuce Cultivars Growing in Spring

The objectives of this study were to adjust the Gompertz and logistic models to fit the fresh and dry matters of leaves and fresh and dry matters of shoots of four lettuce cultivars and indicate the model that best describes the growth in spring. Cultivars Ceres, Gloriosa, Grandes Lagos, and Rubinela were grown in protected environment and in soilless system, in the spring of 2016 and 2017. Seven days after transplantation, fresh and dry leaf matters and fresh and dry shoot matters were weighed every four days until beginning of flowering. The Gompertz and logistic models were adjusted as a function of accumulated thermal sum. The parameters of the Gompertz and logistic models and their confidence intervals were estimated, the assumptions of the models were verified, the goodness-of-fit measures and critical points were calculated, and the parametric and intrinsic nonlinearities quantified. The logistic and Gompertz growth models fitted well to fresh and dry leaf and shoot matters of cultivars Ceres, Gloriosa, Grandes Lagos, and Rubinela, under spring conditions. The logistic model is the most suitable to describe the growth of lettuce cultivars.