Abstract
Studies were made to determine some of the factors which could modify the influence of a cold treatment of transplants on the maturity characteristics of three autumn cauliflower varieties. These included controllable experimental variables and uncontrollable environmental factors some of which were investigated by multiple regression techniques. Results from the four experiments indicated that while the cold treatment considerably shortened the harvest period of the majority of the crops grown, the magnitude of the response of individual crops was affected by the temperature conditions under which the plants were raised and also, on some occasions, by temperature conditions prevailing just after planting and at harvest. There were varietal differences in responsiveness to the cold treatments. Selection for uniformity of transplant growth stage did not increase the cold treatment effect. It is suggested that plant-to-plant variation in low temperature requirement for curd induction may be a factor contributing to the result. The possible use of cold treatment of transplants in commercial practice is discussed.

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