LETTUCE STAND ESTABLISHMENT IN RESPONSE TO SOIL AMENDMENTS AND DIRECT-SEEDING TREATMENTS

Primed, primed + BA, or nontreated lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) seeds w ere sown with several soil amendment covers or a sandy soil cover (con trol) to assess stand establishment in three field experiments. Seeds covered with amendments Growsorb LVM 24/48, Growsorb 6/30, and plug-mi x had a higher percent emergence than soil-covered seeds in warm soil. Primed seeds (with or without BA) had a higher percent emergence than nontreated seeds. Emergence was more rapid with plug-mix, LVM 24/48, and LVM 6/30 covers than with the sandy soil control. Primed seeds wit h or without BA also emerged more rapidly and produced heavier seedlin g shoots than nontreated seeds. Using primed lettuce seeds combined wi th specific soil amendments can improve lettuce stand establishment un der various field conditions. Chemical name used: 6-benzyladenine (BA) .