NC State University: Fruit and Vegetable Science Institute
Key areas of research:
- Determine optimal nutritional characteristics for various fruits and vegetables
- Work with nutritional information to develop plants that meet the nutritional requirements
- Determine how best to produce plants commercially
- Work to increase the yield of vegetable crops in diverse growth environments, while at the same time improving nutritional quality
- Continue to train the next generation of plant breeders
- Work with geneticists who have developed many of the basic biological and statistical tools for mapping genes that influence horticulturally important traits to devise genetic systems for avoidance of plant diseases and insects, reducing farmers' dependence on pesticides
- Use state-of-the-art facilities to isolate protein structures that mediate plant growth, confer pest resistance and increase nutrient production, as well as assist in molecular imaging of cells to determine function