This work was developed during the period of February to April, 2011, with the objective of indicating which environment, greenhouse or open field, provides better conditions for production, and greater resistance to bolting of different cultivars of loose-leaf lettuce, for the climatic conditions of Cáceres, Mato Grosso, Brazil, Twenty treatments were evaluated, using a randomized block experimental design in a 5 x 4 factorial of five environmental conditions (shading screens of 30 and 50%, heat-reflective screens of 30 and 50%, and open field) and four cultivars of loose-leaf lettuce (Elisa, Elizabeth, Regiane and Regina), with four replications. Harvesting was carried out 30 days after transplanting. The most productive lettuce cultivars were Regiane, which obtained the greatest number of leaves, and Regina with the smallest stem length. The environmental conditions that increased resistance to bolting in the lettuce were the shading and 50% heat-reflective screens. The cultivars themselves showed no significant differences for resistance to bolting.
