Comparison of the effectiveness of various lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) hybridization methods

Relevance. Lettuce is a widespread green crop. The high demand for lettuce products, as well as for new varieties, drives the development of different breeding practices for this crop. It is the most promising to use hybridization method in the lettuce breeding for a diverse source material production. However, lettuce is a self-pollinating plant with small flowers and a short flowering period (about three hours), so the technique of castration and pollination is difficult. The current methods of lettuce hybridization vary in efficiency and labor intensity. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of three different hybridization methods and to obtain a source material for lettuce breeding using these methods.