Project Reference: TRG27-PLA-JK2

Project title: Are photosynthesis and nutritious quality genetically linked in leafy vegetable crops?

Project outline

Changing climate conditions and a growing global population are increasingly putting pressure on food provision. While the green revolution realized productivity gains via industrial production of fertilizer as well as the gradual introduction of dwarfing varieties to boost planting density and harvest index, these strategies are unlikely to deliver further substantial gains. To help further enhance crop productivity per unit land area, photosynthesis is often coined as a relatively unexplored strategy. However, this strategy is often focused primarily on a narrow set of staple crops to deliver sufficient calories. This project will study if targeting photosynthesis traits can also deliver enhanced nutritional quality in a leafy vegetable crop.

Principal Supervisor

Professor Johannes Kromdijk

Email address: jk417@cam.ac.uk

Department / Partner Institute: Plant Sciences

Website: https://www.plantsci.cam.ac.uk/people/johannes-kromdijk

BBSRC strategic theme

Bioscience for sustainable agriculture and food