The effect of mechanical stress on transplant growth and subsequent yield of four cultivars of cucumber

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Container-grown seedlings of four Japanese cultivars of cucumber ( Cucumis sativus L.), ‘Kurumeochiai-H’, ‘Chikanari-suhyoh’, ‘Nanshin’ and ‘Ritsurin’, were brushed with a suspended bar for 1.5 min twice daily for 12 days (short-term treatment) prior to being transplanted to raised beds in a plastic greenhouse. Brushing was continued on a selected group of plants for an additional 10 days (long-term brushing). Short-term brushing reduced the growth in dimensions of all cultivars and dry weight accumulation in all cultivars except ‘Kurume-ochiai-H’. Short-term brushing reduced the numbers of female flowers and fruits formed on lateral shoots developing on the treated portions of the main stem in ‘Chikanari-suhyoh’. Long-term brushing decreased the numbers of female flowers and fruits in ‘Nanshin’ and the number of flowers in ‘Chikanari-suhyoh’. However, these responses had no effect on the numbers of fruits harvested or individual fruit size or weight of these cultivars. Treatment had no effect on fruit yield except in ‘Ritsurin’ where both short- and long-term brushing decreased the total fruit weight but not number.