Seasonality on Transplanting Monocropped Lettuce and Intercropping With Staked Summer Squash

Abstract

Lettuce and summer squash are two important vegetables cultivated in peri-urban areas the cities in Mato Grosso State, Brazil. Their intercropping can increase the efficiency of the use of the area and the seasonality of harvest. This study aimed to evaluate the performance of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and summer squash (Cucurbita moschata) in a conventional crop system and intercropped with different lettuce transplant period. These being the result of mono-cropping systems and intercropped lettuce with staked summer squash in six transplanting seasons of the lettuce and the monocropping of the trailing summer squash. The simultaneous transplantation of the two species provided the best performance of the lettuce. Summer squash production per plant did not differ between cropping systems; however, increased productivity was obtained with intercropping due to the higher density of plants. All the periods of inter-cropping establishment showed positive rates of land-use efficiency. For the summer squash production, intercropping systems provide better yield; however, the system hampers the development and production of lettuce.