Prof. Dr. Tsu-Wei Chen

The Intensive Food Plant Systems Group works on understanding physiological functions of horticultural and agricultural crops (winter wheat, vegetable and fruit trees) and how these functions can be improved by plant breeding. They focus on:

• light-induced physiological responses, including photosynthesis, stomatal regulation, photo-acclimation and morphogenesis; 
• interactions between light and other abiotic factors and deciphering these interactions using mechanistic models; 
• up-scaling the environmental effects on leaf level to canopy level;
• breeding history of Germany's winter wheat; and
• nitrogen uptake and partitions in vegetable crops

The Chen Group uses modelling approaches and systems analyses as powerful tools in modern plant science to obtain a systems-understanding of the plant functions, to explain and to predict the physiological phenomena which are not straightforward for experimental biologists. They have interdisciplinary collaboration partners including computer scientists, mathematicians and crop geneticists. 

Besides classical modelling approaches, they are specialized in functional-structural plant models, where the triple feedbacks between environmental triggers, dynamic canopy architectures and physiological functions can be analyzed. Further research focusses are model-assisted high-throughput phenotyping and physiological mechanisms optimizing canopy photosynthesis through acclimation strategies.