Movie S3.

Automated human hair touch treatment of plants grown in soil for physiological, morphological and genetic studies. Plants were grown in the soil, which can mimic the environmental conditions. Four plants were grown in one cup and touch treatment was performed on 12-14 days-old plants which lasted for around 18-25 days until all plants bolted. Touch treatment was performed with human hair controlled by a fully automated in-house-built machine (HKUST Laboratory Service). Touch treatment was performed 3 rounds per day with 8 hours interval. In each round, the individual plant was touched 40 times like the case of cotton swab touch. Plants were considered to have bolted when the primary inflorescence height reached to 1 cm tall.