My primary research interest lies in understanding and exploiting sex determination mechanisms in plants for crop engineering. Historically, advancements such as high-yielding F1-hybrids, mechanization, and irrigation have driven increased crop yields. However, in the post-genomic era, the discovery and optimization of gene networks controlling crucial agronomic traits hold the promise of further elevating productivity.

During my doctoral research, I focused on unravelling sex determination mechanisms in dioecious Coccinia grandis (ivy gourd) through an integrated transcriptomics and proteomics approach. As a postdoctoral researcher, I studied sex determination and fruit shape determination in monoecious cucurbits (melon, cucumber) as well as fruit set control in tomato employing a range of molecular biology, genetics, and -omics technologies.

Looking ahead, I plan to continue my research on plant sex determination, with a specific emphasis on identifying crucial regulators in orphan cucurbit crops cultivated in India, such as bottle gourd, bitter gourd, ivy gourd, sponge gourd, and others. By leveraging sex-determining regulators, we can develop plant lines that overcome the challenges associated with cultivating open-pollinated cucurbit crops. For instance, in crops that develop low number of pistillate flowers, such as bottle gourd and other orphan crops of the Cucurbitaceae family, gynoecy could practically increase the yield and greatly help in F1 hybrid seed production. Also, engineering hermaphrodite or parthenocarpic lines has the potential to substantially boost yield by eliminating the need for pollinators. This work has the potential to play a vital role in ensuring food security and income generation for underprivileged farmers in India and other developing nations.