Agronomic performance of lettuce and carrot, in monoculture and associated with medicinal plants, under organic systems

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the agronomic performance of intercropping between lettuce, carrots, mint and basil in the organic system of production. The experiment was conducted from May to September of 2007, in the field, at the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais - Montes Claros, Minas Gerais. There were two experiments: one with lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) and other with carrot (Daucus carota L.) as main crops. Each one of them was conducted in a randomized block design, with seven treatments and six repetitions. The treatments were: single lettuce and in a group with basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) or mint (Mentha x villosa H.), single carrot and in a group with basil or mint, lettuce and carrot intercropping, and monoculture of basil and mint. The lettuce had two consecutive crops. In the first crop of lettuce only the variable fresh part of the aerial part was influenced by clustered culture. The form of cultivation did not affect the agronomic characteristics of the carrot. In the second crop of lettuce, there were better results in single growing. The
highest productivity of the vegetables was observed in consortium cultivation.