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Crop Science Lab
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The lab aims for stable, sustainable crop production and multipurpose use of crops.
AboutAbout the lab
Sustainable crop production and diverse uses of crops
The Crop Science Lab conducts research toward two goals: stable, sustainable crop production and multipurpose use of crops.
Given food security and climate change, future crop production must both raise yields and ensure sustainability.
Because arable land and resources are limited, crops must be grown with chemical fertilizers and pesticides kept to a minimum, and harvested products must be used without waste.
Using rice, soybean, and sorghum, the lab studies sugar and starch metabolism in plants and their tolerance to environmental stress.
Key terms
- Translocation
- The transport of nutrients such as sugars produced in the leaves to other parts of the plant, such as the fruits and stems
- High stem sugar content
- The trait of accumulating large amounts of sugar in the stem. Suited to use as a raw material for bioethanol and as livestock feed
- Environmental stress tolerance
- The ability to limit declines in survival, growth, and yield under adverse conditions such as high temperature, drought, and salt damage
NewsLab news
View More ↗ResearchResearch themes
The Crop Science Lab has two major goals: stable, sustainable crop production and multipurpose use of crops. Using rice, soybean, sorghum, and other crops, the lab investigates sugar and starch metabolism in plants and the mechanisms of tolerance to environmental stress.
*Illustrative imageSugar and starch metabolism in crops
Carbon fixed in the photosynthetic leaf blades (sources) is converted into sugar and translocated to the harvested organs (sinks), where it accumulates as starch and sugar. Focusing on this metabolism, the lab aims to increase yield and to elucidate how varieties with high stem sugar content accumulate sugar.
*Illustrative imageEnvironmental stress tolerance in crops
Climate change brings abrupt temperature changes, drought, and heavy rain, and irrigation is also increasing salt-affected farmland, so breeding crops that withstand adverse environments has become important. Using mutants and lines of rice and soybean, the lab aims to elucidate and improve the mechanisms of environmental stress tolerance.
MembersFaculty
The members of the Crop Science Lab consist of faculty, administrative and technical staff, researchers, doctoral, master's, and undergraduate students, and research students.As of 2025
- ProfessorNaohiro AokiPublications ↗
- Assistant ProfessorRyutaro MoritaPublications ↗
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Report an errorAbout the images
The top and research theme images are illustrative and were not taken at the lab. They are cropped from Wikimedia Commons images. Cropped CC BY-SA images are provided under the same CC BY-SA license as the original (version shown on each line).
- Top image: “Red Rice Paddy field in Japan 011” Flickr user gtknj / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Sugar and starch metabolism in crops: “Wheat starch granules” Kiselov Yuri / Public domain (cropped)
- Environmental stress tolerance in crops: “Plant de soja près de Saint-Pierre-d'Albigny (septembre 2025)” Florian Pépellin / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (育種学研究室): “Fukuoka-Tsuzura Rice Terrace in an Early Summer-xl” うきは
市 / CC BY 4.0 (cropped) - Related lab (生産生態学研究室／フィールドインフォマティクス（大森研）
): “Rice Japonica Koshihikari” Siriusplot / CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped) - Related lab (地域資源評価研究室): “Cambodiaricefarming2” International Rice Research Institute / CC BY 2.0 (cropped)
- Related lab (園芸学研究室): “Chrysanthemum flowers, specifically a variety known for its bi-color blooms with striped pink and white petals” Shagil Muzhappilangad / CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
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