Genetic parameters and path analysis for early flowering and agronomic traits of lettuce

The objective of this study was to evaluate the genetic parameters of agronomic traits and of tolerance to early flowering of eleven cultivars of lettuce, as well as to verify the existence of an association between the characteristics. The experiment was carried out in a protected environment, in a randomized complete block design, with four replicates, and twelve plants per plot. Forty-five days after seedling transplanting, the following traits were measured: total shoot fresh mass, marketable shoot fresh mass, marketable dry shoot weight, fresh and dry weight of roots, diameter and circumference of head, plant height, number of leaves per plant, and number of days until anthesis. There was genetic variability between cultivars for all variables, except for circumference of plant and fresh weight of root. The cultivars Regina 500, Livia and Atracdo were superior for number of days to flowering and also for the other characteristics. The selection against early flowering caused gain of all the characteristics, but did not affect root dry matter. Fresh matter of shoots and head diameter are indicated for indirect selection against early flowering.