Impact of low-temperature transplant treatment on yield and quality of cauliflower curds in late spring production

Abiotic stresses elicit complex responses of plants at the physiological, biochemical, cellular, and molecular levels, leading to acclimation to adverse conditions. Exposing young plants to abiotic stress (e.g., by lowering the temperature below optimum) provides an improvement of tolerance to further stress. It may also unlock yield potential of temperate-climate crops. Therefore, a study was initiated to investigate the effects of low, non-freezing temperature treatments (6, 10, 14, and 18 degrees C [control]) applied to cauliflower transplants for 1 or 2 wk before planting on subsequent crop yield and quality parameters of the curds. Yield analysis confirmed that plants pretreated with lower temperatures exhibited higher marketable yields. A low temperature of 6 degrees C, maintained for both 1 and 2 wk, resulted in a significant increase in yield, of 6.8 and 7.8%, respectively, compared to the controls. Low-temperature treatments affected mass of the curds and slightly increased numbers of curds with better commercial quality. Cauliflower plants exhibited significantly higher curd diameter in comparison to controls when plants were subjected to 6 degrees C for 1 wk. The occurrence of fuzziness, riciness, and browning of mature curds of cauliflower was not influenced by stress application. The results suggested that controlled, low-temperature treatment of cauliflower transplants could play an important role in enhancing tolerance to field conditions and could offer an opportunity to improve yield of cauliflower grown in the field. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.