Growth and development of horticultural crops such as fruit trees, vegetative crops, and ornamental plants are studied.

1. Vascular system in the shoot and fruit of cucurbits and solanaceous crops.
2. Translocation pathways and sugar metabolism in the vascular systems.
3. Induction of vegetative and reproductive growth in everbearing strawberry plants.
4. Flower development and keeping freshness of cut flower.
5. Gene analysis of sugar metabolism, flower development and keeping freshness.

• Rosaceae
  1. Changes in sugar composition under stressful conditions.
  2. Role of fructokinase in sugar metabolism of rosaceous fruits.

• Cucurbits
  1. Distribution and metabolism of carbon 14-photosynthate in melon and cucurbit.
  
  
• Everbearing strawberry
  1. Effects of high temperature and photoperiod on flower initiation and development.
  2. Out of season production.
  
  
• Tomato
  1. Antisense transformation of tomato plants with fructokinase genes.
  2. Analysis of specific gene expression of developing fruits.
  3. Analysis and isolation of leafy inflorescence gene in mutant tomato.
  4. Translocation pathways and sugar metabolism of photosynthates in pedicels and fruits.

• Delphinium
  1. Changes in sugar metabolic enzymes with senescence of cut flowers.
  
  
• Eustoma
  1. Morphological observation of shoot apices by SEM.
  2. Interactions between temperature and freshening agent on the vase life of cut flowers.
  
  
• Gentian
  1. Effects of soil temperature, air temperature and growth regulators on vegetative and reproductive growth.
  2. Effect of low temperature treatment on bolting and reproductive growth of rosetted plants.
  
  
• Gypsophila
  1. Effects of temperature and photoperiod on vegetative and reproductive growth.

• Root nodule bacteria
  1. RT-PCR mediated cloning and sequence analysis of nitrate reductase gene from nodule cytosol of Lotus japonicus plants.

Phytotrons	Scanning electron microscope (SEM)	Gas chromatograph
High performance liquid chromatograph	PCR thermal cycler	Spectrophotometer