Search

Menu
Search
in Ecology

Growth, yield and economic performance of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in response to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization under irrigation in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

55 Views


Abstract

Lettuce is a popular salad crop and an important cash leafy vegetable, with growing demand in urban and peri-urban areas of Ethiopia. Despite this, research on soil fertility management for lettuce is limited, and productivity remains low. This experiment evaluated the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer rates on lettuce growth and yield under irrigation in 2025 at Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. The experiment comprised five nitrogen rates (0, 46, 92, 138, and 184 kg ha−1 N) and four phosphorus rates (0, 23, 46, and 92 kg ha−1 P2O5), arranged in a Randomized Complete Block Design with three replications. Data were analyzed using R software. Results revealed that the main effects of nitrogen and phosphorus rates significantly (P ≤ 0.001) influenced plant height, number of leaves per plant, and leaf width of lettuce, while leaf length was not affected by phosphorus rates. The interaction of nitrogen and phosphorus significantly (P ≤ 0.001) influenced days to maturity, fresh weight of leaf per plant, marketable fresh leaf yield, and total fresh leaf yield. Partial budget analysis revealed that the highest net benefit (241,070 ETB ha−1) with a marginal rate of return of 190.51% was achieved from the application of 138 kg ha−1 N with 92 kg ha−1 P2O5. This combination was identified as economically optimal and can be recommended for lettuce production in the study area and similar agro-ecological zones. However, the experiment was conducted at a single location and over one season, which may limit generalizability. Varietal differences and environmental impacts were also not assessed; hence, future research should include multi-location, multi-season trials and evaluate varietal differences and environmental impacts.

Data availability

The data that support the findings of this study are available upon reasonable request.

References

  1. Funk, V., Bayer, R., Keeley, S., Chan, R. & Jansen, R. Everywhere but Antarctica: Using a super tree to understand the diversity and distribution of the Compositae. Biol. Skr. 55, 343–373 (2005).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Lebeda, A., Křístková, E., Doležalová, I., Kitner, M. & Widrlechner, M. Wild lactuca species in North America. In North American Crop Wild Relatives, Important Species Vol. 2, 131–194 (Springer Int. Publishing, 2019).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Rubatzky, V. & Yamaguchi, M. World Vegetables: Principles, Production, and Nutritive Values 2nd edn (Springer Science Business Media, 2012).

  4. Addiscott, T. & Benjamin, N. Nitrate and human health. Soil. Use Manag. 20(2), 98–104. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-2743.2004.tb00344.x (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  5. Awaad, M. & Badr, M. Effects of different nitrogen and potassium sources on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) yield in a sandy soil. Eurasian J. Soil. Sci. 5(4), 299–306. https://doi.org/10.18393/ejss.2016.4.299-306 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  6. Naseem, S. & Ismail, H. In vitro and in vivo evaluations of anti-oxidative, anti-Alzheimer, anti-diabetic and anticancer potentials of hydroponically and soil grown Lactua sativa. BMC Complement. Med. Ther.. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12906-022-03520-5 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Yang, X., Gil, M., Yang, Q. & Tomás-Barberán, F. Bioactive compounds in lettuce: Highlighting the benefits to human health and impacts of pre-harvest and post-harvest practices. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf. 21, 4–45. https://doi.org/10.1111/1541-4337.12877 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Leclercq, C., Arcella, D. & Turrini, A. Dietary intake of nitrate and nitrite in Italy. Food Addit. Contam. 17(10), 775–786 (2000).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Jena, A., Rimi, D., Pranamika, S. & Surya, P. Underutilized vegetable crops and their importance. J. Pharmaognosy Phytochem. 7(5), 402–407 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Zenebe, A., Danny, C., Wubetu, B. & Pepijn, S. Scoping study of vegetable seedling systems in urban and peri-urban areas of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and World Vegetable Center, 2024). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/173303.

  11. Kristkova, E., Dolezalova, I., Lebeda, A., Vinter, V. & Novotna, A. Description of morphological characters of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) genetic resources. Hortic. Sci. 35(3), 113–129. https://doi.org/10.17221/4/2008-HORTSCI (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Luchia, T., Niguse, A. & Mehari, A. On farm demonstration of improved lettuce variety (Lactuca sativa L.) in Southeastern zone of Tigray, Ethiopia. J. Plant. Breed. Crop Sci. 10(7), 178–182. https://doi.org/10.5897/JPBCS2018.0730 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  13. FAOSTAT (Food and Agriculture Organization Statistics). http://www.fao.org/faostat/en#home. Accessed 21 Mar 2025 (2023).

  14. Asfaw, Z. & Eshetu, D. Production and management of major vegetable crops in Ethiopia Vol. I (Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, 2015).

  15. Hernández, T., Chocano, C., Moreno, J. & García, C. Use of compost as an alternative to conventional inorganic fertilizers in intensive lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) crops- Effects on soil and plant. Soil Tillage. Res. 160, 14–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2016.02.005 (2016).

    Google Scholar 

  16. Islam, M. Response of grain amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus) to plant density. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 65(11), 818–820 (2003).

    Google Scholar 

  17. Tamene, L., Tilahun, A., Job, K., Degefie, T. & Steffen, S. A review of soil fertility management and crop response to fertilizer application in Ethiopia: Towards development of site-and context-specific fertilizer recommendation. http://hdl.handle.net/10568/82996 (2017)

  18. Kharade, M., Jagtap, V., Navsupe, S., Ralebhat, B. & Veer, D. Effect of nitrogen and phosphorus on growth, yield and quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L). Pharma Innov. 10 (10), 746–748 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  19. Yebirzaf, Y., Bezawit, Y., Belayneh, Z., Ayehu, C. & Alachew, W. Effect of nitrogen fertilizer and farmyard manure on growth and yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L). Int. J. Agric. Res. 13, 74–79. https://doi.org/10.3923/ijar.2018.74.79 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Malhotra, H., Vandana, A., Sharma, S. & Pandey, R. Phosphorus nutrition: Plant growth in response to deficiency and excess. In Plant Nutrients and Abiotic Stress Tolerance (eds Hasanuzzaman, M., Fujita, M., Oku, H., Nahar, K. & Hawrylak-Nowak, B.) (Springer, 2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-9044-87.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Alahi, A. et al. Effect of phosphorus and plant spacing on the growth and yield of lettuce. Adv. Agric. Biol. 2(1), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.15192/PSCP.AAB.2014.2.1.17 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  22. Hong, J. et al. Evaluation of the effects of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium applications on the growth, yield, and quality of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L). Agronomy 12(10), 2477. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy12102477 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  23. Islam, M., Islam, M., Rouf, M., Sultana, M. & Haque, M. Effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizer on yield and yield attributes of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L). J. Biosci. Agric. Res. 23(01), 1872–1884. https://doi.org/10.18801/jbar.230119.231 (2019).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Hoque, M., Ajwa, H., Othman, M., Smith, R. & Cahn, M. Yield and postharvest quality of lettuce in response to nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilizers. HortScience 45(10), 1539–1544. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI.45.10.1539 (2010).

    Google Scholar 

  25. Inkham, C., Panjama, K., Seehanam, P. & Ruamrungsri, S. Effect of nitrogen, potassium and calcium concentrations on growth, yield and nutritional quality of green oak lettuce. Acta Hortic. 1312, 409–416. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2021.1312.59 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  26. MoANR (Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resource). Vegetable, fruit and root tuber production package (2009).

  27. Tsigreda, M., Abate, F., Yadessa, G. & Getachew, S. Growth and marketable yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) as affected by bio-slurry and chemical fertilizer application. Heliyon. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23600 (2024).

    Google Scholar 

  28. Kerbiriou, P., Stomph, T., Lammerts, V. & Struik, P. Influence of transplant size on the above-and below-ground performance of four contrasting field-grown lettuce cultivars. Front. Plant Sci. 4, 379. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2013.00379 (2013).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Gil, M., Tudela, J., Martínez-Sánchez, A. & Luna, M. Harvest maturity indicators of leafy vegetables. Stewart Postharvest Rev. 8(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.2212/spr.2012.1.2 (2012).

    Google Scholar 

  30. Affrim-Tiripa, B. Eden lettuce growth, yield, and yield components as affected by transplanting depth. Doctoral Dissertation, Faculty of Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi (2023).

  31. Miceli, A. & Miceli, C. Effect of N fertilizer on the quality of Swiss chard at harvest and during storage as minimally processed produce. J. Food Qual. 37, 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1111/jfq.12073 (2014).

    Google Scholar 

  32. Gomez, K. & Gomez, A. Statistical Procedures for Agricultural Research 2nd edn (John Wiley and Sons, 1984).

  33. CIMMYT (Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maizy Trigo). From agronomic data to farmer recommendations: An economics training manual: An economics training manual. Completely Revis. Ed. Mexico (1988).

  34. USDA (United States Department of Agriculture). Textural soil classification study guide. National employee development staff (Soil Conservation Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 1987).

  35. Murphy, H. Report on fertility status and other data on some soils of Ethiopia. College of Agriculture HSIU, Experimental Station Bullet No.44, Collage of Agriculture (1968).

  36. Debele, B. The Physical Criteria and Their Rating Proposed for Land Evaluation in the Highland Region of Ethiopia (Land Use Planning and Regulatory Department, Ministry of Agriculture, 1980).

  37. Landon, J. Booker Tropical Soil Manual: A Handbook for Soil Survey and Agricultural Land Evaluation in the Tropics and Subtropics (Routledge, 1991). https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315846842.

  38. Tekalign, T. Soil, plant, water, fertilizer, animal manure and compost analysis. Working Document No.13 (International Livestock Research Center for Africa (ILRA), 1991). https://hdl.handle.net/10568/4448.

  39. Cottenie, A. Soil and plant testing as a basis of fertilizer recommendations. FAO Soil Bulletin 38/2 (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 1980).

  40. Rather, A. et al. Effect of organic manures and bio-fertilizers on growth and yield of lettuce. Pharma Innov. J. 7 (5), 75–77 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  41. Simon, K., Bantayhu, M., Muluhabt, B., Engida, M. Effects of biochar and NPS fertilizers on growth and yield of Swiss Chard (Beta vulgaris var. cicla L.) in North Ari, South Omo Zone, Southern Ethiopia. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3178821/v1 (2023)

  42. Fathi, A. Role of nitrogen (N) in plant growth, photosynthesis pigments, and N use efficiency: A review. Agrisost 28: 1–8. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7143588 (2022).

  43. Bewuket, G. & Shewaye, H. Effect of different rates of N and intra row spacing on growth performance of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in Gurage zone Ethiopia. Adv. Agric. 1, 7364578. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/7364578 (2020).

    Google Scholar 

  44. Boroujerdnia, M. & Ansari, N. Effect of different levels of nitrogen fertilizer and cultivars on growth, yield and yield components of romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa L). Middle East. Russ. J. Plant. Sci. Biotechnol. 1(2), 47–53 (2007).

    Google Scholar 

  45. Akter, S., Briste, M., Rabbani, S. & Hoshain, S. Effect of different levels of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilizer on growth and yield of lettuce in coastal zone of Bangladesh. Res. Agric. Livest. Fish. 9(2), 125–134. https://doi.org/10.3329/ralf.v9i2.61618 (2022).

    Google Scholar 

  46. Patel, V., Vikram, B., Sikarwar, P. & Sengupta, J. Effect of different levels of nitrogen and phosphorus on growth and yield of spinach (Spinacea oleracea L.) cv. all green. J. Pharmacogn. Phytochem. 10(1), 2229–2231 (2021).

    Google Scholar 

  47. Sahil, A., Singh, S., Kumar, K., Tiwari, J. & Mukesh, N. Performance evaluation of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) growth, yield and quality under subtropical climate. J. Agric. Ecol. 17, 38–43. https://doi.org/10.58628/JAE-2317-306 (2023).

    Google Scholar 

  48. Tiru, T., Derajew, A. & Hulushum, W. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) yield and yield components as affected by mulching at Teda, Central Gondar, Northwest Ethiopia. Int. J. Sci. Res. Manag. IJSRM 6(9), 190–194. https://doi.org/10.18535/ijsrm/v6i9.ah01 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  49. Hasan, M., Tahsin, A., Islam, M., Ali, M. & Uddain, J. Growth and yield of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) influenced as nitrogen fertilizer and plant spacing. J. Agric. Vet. Sci. 10(6), 62–71. https://doi.org/10.9790/2380-1006016271 (2017).

    Google Scholar 

  50. Singh, N. & Singh, H. Impact of nitrogen and phosphorus on growth and seed yield of spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). Asian J. Hortic. 15(1), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.15740/HAS/TAJH/15.1/1-3 (2020).

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticulture, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, Bahir Dar University, P.O. Box 5501, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia

    Sefinew Shibabaw, Melkamu Alemayehu & Daniel Asnake

Authors

  1. Sefinew Shibabaw
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Melkamu Alemayehu
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniel Asnake
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

S.S. Conceptualization, Data curation, Investigation, Software, Writing – original draft, M.A. Conceptualization, Methodology, Supervision, Validation, Writing – review & editing, D.A. Methodology, Validation, Writing – review & editing.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to
Sefinew Shibabaw.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Shibabaw, S., Alemayehu, M. & Asnake, D. Growth, yield and economic performance of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) in response to nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization under irrigation in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47274-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-47274-3

Keywords

  • Fresh leaf yield
  • Leafy vegetable
  • Nitrogen nutrient
  • Paris Island Cos
  • Phosphorus nutrient

Source: Ecology - nature.com

Age-grading and species identification of male mosquito Anopheles gambiae s.l. using mid-infrared spectroscopy and machine learning

Trace element distribution in soils and food in intensively cultivated tropical areas of Mato Grosso, Brazil

This portal is not a newspaper as it is updated without periodicity. It cannot be considered an editorial product pursuant to law n. 62 of 7.03.2001. The author of the portal is not responsible for the content of comments to posts, the content of the linked sites. Some texts or images included in this portal are taken from the internet and, therefore, considered to be in the public domain; if their publication is violated, the copyright will be promptly communicated via e-mail. They will be immediately removed.

Back to Top
Close