About Us
Feeding a growing population in a warming world is becoming increasingly difficult. The Cucurbitaceae family (commonly known as the gourd or cucumber family) is one of the most vital plant families globally, crucial for human nutrition, the agricultural economy, and traditional medicine. It includes staple crops like melons, gourds, cucumbers, squashes, pumpkins, and bitter melons. India is a primary center of diversity for cucurbits, growing 37 genera and around 100 species, ranging from major cash crops to regional varieties.
The FAO estimates that cucurbits in India are grown on about 4,290,000 hectares with a productivity of 10.5 tonnes/hectare. A major reason for their low productivity lies in how these plants determine whether a flower becomes male or female. Although this might seem like a small detail, the balance between male and female flowers directly affects yield, hybrid seed production, and long-term crop stability. Many cucurbit crops already struggle with poor fruit set, erratic flowering patterns, and declining pollinator populations.
Historically, advancements such as high-yielding F1-hybrids, mechanization, and irrigation have driven increased crop yields. However, in the post-genomic era, the discovery and optimization of gene networks controlling crucial agronomic traits hold the promise of further elevating productivity.
Our primary research interest is to understand and exploit sex determination mechanisms in plants for crop engineering, with the goals of developing female-biased lines, improving fruit set, reducing dependence on pollinators, and stabilizing yields under climate stress.