Research activities
While post-harvest physiology of crop products has been the core activity of the unit for more than 15 years, the focus has been more recently placed on plant rhizosphere biology and ecophysiology, unravelling molecular interactions between plant roots and biotic communities of the soil. The present researches focus on plant-bacteria and plant-plant interactions mediated through volatile organic compounds in the rhizosphere of basic and applied model plants. The Laboratory aims at understanding the physiological response of plants to volatiles emitted in their rhizosphere in order to develop biostimulant products allowing plants to better tolerate nutritional and water stress, by improving the architecture, growth and activity of the root system.
In charge: Pr Patrick du Jardin and Dr Pierre Delaplace