The intercropping system is characterized by interspecific
competition and leads to one of the most limiting abiotic
factors for high plant yield in this cropping system.
Plants under low light can carry significant weight in
physiological parameters that can limit growth. Light
is one of the abiotic factors that limits productivity;
in the present study, it was hypothesized that tomato
(
Solanum lycopersicum
L.) and lettuce (
Lactuca sativa
L.) intercropping in different transplanting periods
promotes changes in gas exchange, photosynthetic
pigments, and biomass accumulation in two lettuce
cultivars. An experimental study was carried out in
Jaboticabal, Sao Paulo, Brazil. The treatments consisted
of a combination of the following factors: lettuce (one
‘Lucy Brown’ plant between two tomato plants and two
‘Vanda’ plants between tomato plants), two cultivation
systems (intercropping and monoculture), and four lettuce
transplanting periods (0, 7, 14. and 21 d after tomato
transplanting). The experiment was a randomized block
with a 3 × 2 × 4 factorial design and four replicates.
Transpiration and stomatal conductance were reduced
in lettuce by insterspersing plants under a monoculture
system. Lettuce-tomato intercropping severely reduced
photosynthesis, fluorescence, chlorophyll pigment content,
and DM accumulation. Therefore, ‘Vanda’ is better than
‘Lucy Brown’ for intercropping with tomato.
