Agricultural products logistics is an important feature of modern agriculture, in the context of extending the agricultural industrial chain and realizing the added-value of agricultural products. Research in postharvest biology and logistics is the scientific basis for improving the technological industry systems in our country. The loss of postharvest fruits can be effectively reduced through regulating the senescence process of postharvest fruits and various approaches to retarding deterioration and extending quality provide the theoretical basis for improving logistics technology.
The research direction is mainly focused on the maturation and aging process of fruits and the biological mechanisms and regulation of postharvest quality. Based on the separation and identification of functional genes related to ripening and senescence, we apply modern molecular biology methods, such as functional genomics and metabolomics to clarify its mechanism, thereby to develop new and integrative technologies of fruit storage and logistics, and develop new systems in order to reduce postharvest fruit loss, increase the profit of the industry, to ensure market supply and to support the industry development.
The research is supported by "Food cold-chain logistics industry technology innovation strategic alliance” of the Ministry of Science and Technology, and “Modern logistics and quality and safety of agricultural products” science and technology innovation team in Zhejiang province. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation, the National Key Technology Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Special Scientific Research Fund of Agricultural Public Welfare Profession of China, The Program for Key Innovative Research Team of Zhejiang Province, Natural Science Foundation of Zhejiang Province. A series of papers were published in Plant Physiology, Plant, Cell & Environment, Critical Reviews in Plant Science, Journal of Experimental Botany, Planta, Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, Postharvest Biology and Technology. Our achievement in basic research and technology resulted in one second-class award at national level, and two first-class ones at provincial/ ministerial level as the lead institution.
The main research areas include:
(1) The molecular biological mechanisms of fruit ripening and senescence;
(2) Changes and regulation of postharvest fruit quality;
(3) Mechanisms of postharvest fruit physiological disorders and their regulation;
(4) Integrative technologies development and application to fruit logistics.
