Improper agricultural practices over the decades symbolize a serious problem for various crops productivity. Citric acid (CA) (C₆H₈O₇) has demonstrated a superior role in abiotic stress resistance in plants. The current investigation was implemented to test the effectiveness of citric acid root application before and after transplanting. The treatments were: T1 = root soaking (RS) 0.5 g/L, T2 = (RS) 0.75 g/L, T3 = (RS) 1 g/L, T4 = soil application (SA) 0.5 g/L, T5 = (SA) 0.75 g/L, T6 = (SA) 1 g/L, T7 = (RS) 0.5 g/L + (SA) 0.5 g/L, T8 = (RS) 0.75 g/L + (SA) 0.75 g/L, T9 = (RS) 1 g/L + (SA) 1 g/L, and T10 = untreated (control). Overall, the findings demonstrated that the administration of CA in both seasons had a considerable impact on all vegetative development. With the exception of T9, all treatments enhanced growth parameters when compared to the untreated treatment; T7 showed the most remarkable improvement when compared to all other treatments. Citric acid has the potential to decline the harmful effects of abiotic stress in lettuce by inhibiting uptake of Na⁺ and Cl⁻ and by stimulating the antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, POD, CAT, PAL, and PPO.