ناصر عسکری

The lack of water is an important global issue which is a challenge to food security and sustainable agriculture. Improvement of agricultural methods to reduce water usage in the fields is a considerable manner for water saving specially in dry regions. Super absorbent polymers (SAPs), a water saving materials, have been applied in agriculture due to their impact on improvement of soil conditions (reduce soil penetration resistance, increase soil water holding capacity and soil aggregation and protection of soil organic matters), and reducing water consumption in the field. The aim of current study is to investigate the effect of super absorbent polymerA200 on the growth and yield of lettuce in dry conditions. In this study, five treatments of SAPA200 (0, 200, 400, 600 and 800 kg/ha) were imposed in a randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications. The SAPA200 were applied one week after transplanting of the lettuce seedlings (two leaves stage) at a depth of 10-15 cm of the soil. The structure of soil was determined as sandy loam and the irrigation intervals were two times per week for all of the treatments. After 6 weeks, fresh weight of harvestable head, roots and shoots dry weight and longest root length were measured. The results of the experiments showed that the highest yield (270 gr/head) was achieved in 600 kg/ha SAPA200 compared to the control (60 gr/head). The highest (35%) and lowest (25%) roots dry weight were measured in 800 kg/ha SAPA200 and the control respectively. The longest (24 cm) and shortest (17 cm) root lengths were monitored in the control and 800 kg/ha SAPA200 respectively. The difference between leaves dry weight was not statistically significant. In conclusion, application of SAPA200 improved the yield of lettuce and it can protect water resources and lead to a more sustainable agriculture.