Feeding crops to feed the future

We study the uptake, transport and utilization of mineral nutrients in plants. Our main themes are nutrient use efficiency, agronomic biofortification and tolerance to abiotic stress, with experiments in nutrient solution, soil, greenhouse, field and vertical farming systems.

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A wheat plant shown with the soil cut away, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, iron and boron rising from the roots to the ear

01Research areas

All research

Plant nutrition & next-generation fertilizers

Macro- and micronutrient management, fertilizer use efficiency and controlled-release fertilizers.

Macro · Micronutrients

Soilless & vertical farming

Nutrient solution recipes, substrates and light conditions in soilless production and their effects on plant growth.

Hydroponics · Vertical farming

Circular bioeconomy in agriculture

Returning agricultural and industrial wastes to crop production as biochar, substrates and fertilizers.

Waste valorization · Biochar

Biostimulants, microbial products & plant-microorganism interactions

Effects of seaweed and plant extracts, mycorrhiza-bacteria consortia and root endophytes on plant growth.

Biostimulants · Microbial fertilizers

Biofortification & hidden hunger

Increasing zinc, selenium, iron and iodine concentrations in wheat grain and vegetables through agronomic practices.

Zn · Se · Fe · I

Abiotic stress physiology & tolerance

Effects of drought, salinity, boron toxicity and high temperature on plant physiology, and the role of mineral nutrition in stress tolerance.

Stress physiology

Sensors, IoT & AI for sustainable agriculture

Sensors for real-time nutrient monitoring, IoT-based growing systems and data-driven decision support.

Sensors · IoT · AI

Members of the KutmanLab team at the Institute of Biotechnology

People

Meet the team

KutmanLab is the plant biotechnology, physiology and nutrition group of the GTÜ Institute of Biotechnology: two principal investigators, two lecturers, research assistants, PhD and MSc students and undergraduate researchers who share the R&D greenhouse, the growth chamber and the analysis lab.

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02Recent publications

All publications

2026

Pre-Treated Gasification Biochar from Tomato Crop Residues as a Component of Soilless Seedling Substrates Tastan OF, Celik E, Dogru M, Yildiz Kutman B, Kutman UB · Horticulturae 12(6):727 DOI Open access

Journal article

2026

Sulfur Supply Modulates Selenium Biofortification, Yield, and Nutritional Quality in Leafy Greens Grown in an Indoor Vertical Farm Bayrak A, Kutman UB · Agronomy 16(12):1193 DOI Open access

Journal article

2025

Biostimulant Extracts Obtained from the Brown Seaweed Cystoseira barbata Enhance the Growth, Yield, Quality, and Nutraceutical Value of Soil-Grown Tomato Arikan-Algul Y, Mutlu-Durak H, Kutman UB, Yildiz Kutman B · Agronomy 15(5):1138 DOI Open access

Journal article

This list is synced automatically from the ORCID records of lab members.

03News

All news

August 27, 2026

KutmanLab at Nitrogen 2026 in Gatersleben

Burak Tunçbaş presented a poster on urea-loaded biodegradable superabsorbent polymers and nitrogen use efficiency in wheat at the 6th International Symposium on the Nitrogen Nutrition of Plants.

July 22, 2026

Nordik biosensor project we co-advise receives TÜBİTAK TEYDEB 1507 support

The LAMP-based biosensor project of Nordik, a venture of two GTÜ Institute of Biotechnology PhD students that our lab helps advise, has received TÜBİTAK TEYDEB 1507 support.

04Industry and research partners

About KutmanLab

A research group at the Institute of Biotechnology of Gebze Technical University that studies mineral nutrition in plants from root to grain, in experiments ranging from nutrient solution to the field.