This lab has five research groups to tackle the fungal diseases and related control measures of rice, upland crops, fruit trees, vegetables and flowers. The major targeted crops include paddy rice, corn, peanut, citrus, lychee, papaya, grape, strawberry, dragon fruit, guava, cucurbit vegetables, solanaceous vegetables, orchids, lily, potted flowers, foliage plants, etc. In general, the research activities cover disease diagnosis, epidemiology, etiology, pathogen identification, fungal taxonomy, fungal physiology, fungal ecology, disease resistance and screening for resistance, development of non-chemical control techniques and materials, and development and deployment of integrated disease management. In the future, the lab will embark on fungal diseases of medicinal plants; investigate how climate change impinge on fungal crop diseases; integrate molecular, genetic and biochemical techniques into research toolkits to facilitate research efforts.
