Who we are
KutmanLab is the Plant Biotechnology, Physiology and Nutrition Lab of the Institute of Biotechnology at Gebze Technical University. The lab is led by Asst. Prof. Ümit Barış Kutman and Asst. Prof. Bahar Yıldız Kutman, who both completed their BSc and PhD in Biological Sciences and Bioengineering at Sabancı University and worked at Konya Food and Agriculture University and the University of California, Davis before joining GTÜ. The team includes two faculty members, two lecturers, three research assistants, doctoral and master’s students, and undergraduate researchers.
Research approach
The uptake of mineral nutrients by roots, their transport and their remobilization within the plant are the core processes that determine yield, crop quality and tolerance to environmental stress. Our lab studies these processes at the physiological level and carries the resulting knowledge into fertilization, waste valorization and soilless production.
We work along seven lines of research:
- Plant nutrition and next-generation fertilizers: management of macro- and micronutrients, fertilizer use efficiency and controlled-release fertilizers.
- Soilless and vertical farming: how nutrient solution recipes, substrates and light conditions affect plant growth in soilless cultivation.
- Circular bioeconomy in agriculture: returning agricultural and industrial wastes to crop production, including biochar, substrates made from soilless tomato greenhouse waste, and steel slag and rice straw based biofertilizers, and recovering nutrients from agricultural wastewater with duckweed (Lemna minor).
- Biostimulants, microbial products and plant-microorganism interactions: effects of seaweed and plant extracts, mycorrhiza-bacteria consortia and root endophytes on plant growth.
- Biofortification and hidden hunger: raising zinc, selenium, iron and iodine concentrations in wheat grain and vegetables by agronomic means.
- Abiotic stress physiology and tolerance: effects of drought, salinity, boron toxicity and high temperature on plant physiology, and the role of mineral nutrition in stress tolerance.
- Sensors, IoT and AI for sustainable agriculture: sensors for real-time nutrient monitoring, IoT-based growing systems and data-driven decision support.
Research infrastructure and methods
Research questions are addressed in experimental systems with different levels of control. Physiological mechanisms are studied in nutrient solution cultures and in a growth chamber with programmable temperature, light and humidity; their consequences for plant growth and yield are examined in soil, substrate and hydroponic pot experiments in the R&D greenhouse established with GÜBRETAŞ in 2020. Findings are tested under production conditions on a field trial area of about 0.6 hectares in use since 2021 and in the Plant Factory vertical farming unit on campus.
Macro- and micronutrients in plant, soil, substrate and water samples are analyzed by ICP-OES after digestion in a CEM MARS 6 microwave system, and these analyses are evaluated together with growth, yield and quality measurements. The work is carried out through projects funded by TÜBİTAK, TAGEM and the university, and with industry partners from the fertilizer, vertical farming and mining sectors. Undergraduate and graduate students take part in every stage of the research, from experimental design to data analysis and publication.
Location and contact
The lab is located at the Institute of Biotechnology on the Gebze Technical University campus (Gebze, Kocaeli). Directions and contact details are on the Contact page, and opportunities to join the lab or collaborate with us are described on the Join the lab page.