The horticulture laboratory includes research on vegetables and fruit. One of the main research goal of the vegetable part is to develop the utilization of male sterility in cruciferous family. A native radish male sterility line was exploited to develop the three-line hybrid system for cabbage variety development and cruciferous seed production through intergeneric hybridization. Another research goal is to develop tomato varieties and techniques suitable for protected cultivation. The fruit research part focuses on improving varieties of important temperate fruit crops including pear, loquat, peach, persimmon, and table grape. Breeding and cultivation techniques are two important sectors of fruit research. For breeding program, in addition to superior quality, we focus more on specific traits like low-chill, early ripening, no cracking, climate stress tolerance, disease resistance, etc. We are trying to add marker assisted selection systems into breeding procedures. For cultivation techniques, we put emphasis on dormancy breaking, climate change adaptation, meterological disaster prevention, training system, sufficient irrigation, etc. Recently we are testing the potential of growing temperate fruits in tropical regions and developing related techniques.
