With the objective of verifying the effect of different concentrations of salts in the irrigation water on the production of the American lettuce, as well as its accumulation in the saturation extract during a cultivation cycle, one experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in the Department of Engineering of the Federal University of Lavras. The statistical design adapted was completely randomized, with 6 levels of water salinity (electric conductivity of 0.18, 1.0, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 dS m-1) and 5 replications. The results obtained showed that the consumption of water for the plants during the production cycle decreased with increasing levels of salinity of irrigation water, and that the increase of the salinity caused a reduction in appraised vegetative variables. The maximum commercial production of the American lettuce was obtained when the electrical conductivity of the saturated extract reached 0.2 dS m-1. For each unit increase of conductivity beyond the limit cited, there was a reduction of 17% in commercial production.
water quality; saturated extract; electric conductivity; Lattence sativum
