EFFECT OF ORGANIC AMENDMENTS ON SOIL AND LETTUCE CROP PROTECTION

In recent years the production of crops under cover in the Platense Horticultural Belt grew significantly, managing to produce several crops per year. A practice used by producers in the area is the incorporation of organic amendments, this practice is repeated year after year without control of doses and effects on the soil resource. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the application of fresh and composted chicken litter on the physical, physico-chemical and chemical properties of the soil and on the quality and yield of the lettuce crop, Lactuca sativa L. The test was conducted on a typical Hapludert of the city of La Plata, in a greenhouse. Three treatments were compared: soil with horticultural history considered witness (T), soil with fresh chicken litter, dose of 30 t ha -1 (T2), soil with incorporation of composted chicken litter in doses equivalent to the organic carbon content to T2 (T3) and double dose than T3 (T4).