Vegetable Crop Science
Investigation of physiological characteristics related to vegetable production and development of production systems
We are conducting research on vegetable production, such as tomatoes and strawberries, from the perspective of how the growing environment affects crop quality, yield and other agricultural traits. Recently, we especially focus on efficient environmental control in greenhouse cultivation and pollination control in strawberry production.
Another research theme is the use of the flowering hormone (florigen) in vegetable production and breeding. We are conducting basic research and developing technologies to efficiently deliver florigen using grafting for cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage and radish.
We are also carrying out various other studies on vegetables, such as the evaluation of quality characteristics of traditional vegetables, the development of efficient watering technology in cucumber cultivation, and the development of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) control methods in the cultivation of melons and eggplants.
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Development of smart farming technologies in vegetable cultivation
Up until this point, vegetable cultivation has been carried out in a labor-intensive manner, but in recent years, the introduction of computer and ICT-based equipment has been progressing. Along with this the development of labor-saving cultivation technologies is also advancing. Research is being conducted on computer-assisted technology in greenhouse cultivation, in particular the development of methodologies for automatic environmental control and new equipment for environmental control, with the aim of systemizing efficient technology that will decrease the amount of labor required. We are also developing technology that uses AI to evaluate the activities of flower-visiting insects in strawberry production.
 Development of an AI-based cabbage sorting system |
 Development of environmental control method for Strawberry cultivation |
Application of flowering hormones to vegetable production and breeding technology using grafting techniques.
When the flowering season arrives, flowering hormone (florigen) is produced in the leaves of plants, which is transferred to the growing point to produce flower buds. If we can use this flowering hormone to make plants flower freely, we can diversify vegetable production and breeding. For example, by harvesting fruit and seeds from plants that normally have difficulty in flowering, or by reducing the time needed for breeding by allowing flowering in any season, a wider range of vegetable production will become possible. We are working on developing the technology to efficiently deliver flowering hormones and induce flowering rapidly, using a technique called grafting.
Currently, we are mainly targeting cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, broccoli, and radish. We are tackling issues such as the development of ‘flowering-inducing rootstocks’ that can supply large amounts of flowering hormones through genome breeding. As well as the development of environmental control methods that promote the synthesis of flowering hormones. Finally we are analyzing the reasons for graft incompatibility between radish and cabbages.
 Research on rapid flowering induction of cabbage by grafting onto radish rootstocks |
 Field cultivation experiment of cabbage |
Publications
・安見明香里, 中川ほのか, 吉田裕一, 後藤丹十郎, 北村嘉邦, 安場健一郎: キュウリ植物体重量の日変動から見た日射および果実の有無による吸水特性. 園芸学研究（印刷中）.
・Motoki K., Kinoshita Y., Nakano R., Hosokawa M. and Nakazaki T.: Investigation of the field performance of progenies obtained by a non-vernalization-grafting floral induction method in terms of application to cabbage breeding and seed production. Hort. J. 92: 66-76.
・Nguyen T. C., Sunagawa N., Sesumi M., Kitamura Y., Tanaka Y., Goto T., Yasuba K. and Yoshida Y.: Fasciation in Strawberry Floral Organs and Possible Implications for Floral Transition. Hort. J. 91(1): 58-67 (2022)
・Motoki K., Kinoshita Y., Nakano R., Hosokawa M. and Nakazaki T.: Quantitative analysis of florigen for the variability of floral induction in cabbage/radish inter-generic grafting. Plant Cell Physiol. 63: 1230–1241 (2022)
・内村優希, 吉田裕一, 後藤丹十郎, 安場健一郎: 機械学習を利用したキャベツ選果システムの開発. 園芸学研究 20(4): 469-475 (2021)
・Motoki K., Kinoshita Y. and Hosokawa M. Non-vernalization flowering and seed set of cabbage induced by grafting onto radish rootstocks. Front. Plant Sci. 9: 1967 (2019)
・Yasuba K., Kurosaki K., Hoshi T., Okayasu T., Tanaka Y., Goto T. and Yoshida Y.: Development of Program Library using an Open-source Hardware for Implementation of Low-cost Greenhouse Environmental Control System. Environmental Control in Biology. 56(3): 107-112 (2018)
Graduate and alumni career paths
Postgraduate studies, national research and development corporation (National Agricultural Research Organization), public servant (national and local), teacher (agricultural high school), JA group, agricultural production corporation, general business (food-related, IT-related, etc.)