Faculty of Agriculture

Ecophysiology Research Group

Encouraging multidisciplinary research in plant science

Ecophysiology is the science of understanding the function and responses of plants in a group, as a community, or in an ecosystem, comprising both natural and agri-ecosystems, and their interaction with soil, environment, and production management systems.

The research themes of the Ecophysiology Research Group (ERG) focus on understanding the growth, developmental, physiological, and metabolic responses of plants as individual organisms and in their communities: their interaction with the environment in which they grow; their mechanisms of tolerance to various environmental stresses; their acclimation and adaptation mechanisms; inter- and intra-plant communication and signals.

The ERG also aims to develop plant growth, maturity, yield and quality models, as well as agro-informatics that will help in optimizing crop growth, yield, and quality, and allow the development of intelligent decision-making tools.

Research areas

The Ecophysiology Research Group is affiliated with other groups across the Agricultural Campus working on plant- and horticulture-related projects:

  • Processing Carrot Research Program
  • Needle Retention Research
  • Rhubarb Research Program
  • Edible Horticulture Research (tomatoes and grapes)

Specific research projects are looking at the following areas:

  • Agroinformatics
  • Bulking Modeling of Carrots
  • Bulking Physiology
  • Varietal Introduction and Adaptation
  • Crop Competition, Yield, and Quality Modeling
  • Resource Optimization and Modeling
  • Stand Establishment and Seedling Physiology
  • Physiological Disorders
  • Stress Physiology and Acclimation
  • Ecophysiology
  • Maturity, Yield, and Modeling
  • Good Agricultural Practices
  • EEES Carrot-based Cropping Systems
  • Pest and Disease Forecasting - CIPRA Calibration

Our researchers

  • Rajasekaran Lada – Research lead
  • Azure Adams – scientific officer
  • Arumugam Thiagarajan – agro-informatician
  • Various graduate students