Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science, NARO

Department of Vegetable Breeding Research focuses on the development of improved cultivars of cucurbitaceous vegetables (ex. melon, cucumber), strawberries, solanaceous vegetables (ex. tomato, eggplant), brassicaceous vegetables (ex. broccoli, radish, Chinese cabbage) and allium vegetables (ex. bunching onion, onion), that is, the important items in Japanese vegetable production, with particular emphasis on heat tolerance, resistance to diseases and insect pests, labor saving, high contents of health-promoting compounds, and so on. Specifically, we aim to develop high-yielding bunching onion cultivars adapted to high-temperature conditions; cucurbit cultivars resistant to Cucurbit chlorotic yellows virus (CCYV) and/or Melon yellow spot virus (MYSV); tomato cultivars resistant to Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV); brassicaceous vegetable cultivars resistant to clubroot; seed-propagated strawberry cultivars with high propagation efficiency and resistance to the transmission of diseases and pests from mother plants; and brassicaceous vegetable cultivars rich in health-promoting compounds that contribute to human health. We are also actively engaged in collaborative research with private companies to develop practical commercial cultivars. In addition, we place strong emphasis on strengthening breeding infrastructure technologies, including the development of molecular markers based on genomic information, to enable more efficient and advanced breeding.