The Cardoso Crop Physiology Lab
The Cardoso lab targets the functioning of crops in response to challenging environmental conditions, with major implications for the improvement of cultivated plant productivity. As plant models, we use a wide variety of species, including woody, herbaceous, and grass crops.
Research Interests
The Cardoso lab is located in the Crop and Soil Sciences department of the NC State University. We are focused on identifying structural and physiological traits that maintain efficient water transport and enhance crop resilience under adverse climates.
Three specific lines of investigation are: (1) linking drought resistance mechanisms with genotype-by-environment interaction; (2) identifying resistance traits that confer resistance to multiple environmental stresses; and (3) harnessing new technologies to study and improve drought resistance.
Selected
Publications
Oliveira LA, Oliveira D, Taggart M, Milla-Lewis SR, Clothier J, Cardoso AA (2026) Cellular integrity beyond xylem embolism underpins drought tolerance in zoysiagrasses. Journal of Experimental Botany: erag204
Cardoso AA, Andrade MT, Bucior ER, Martins SCV (2025) Plant hydraulic traits influencing crop production in water-limited environments. Plant Physiology 199: kiaf521.
Haverroth EJ, Da-Silva C, Taggart M, Oliveira LA, Cardoso AA (2025) Shoot hydraulic impairments induced by waterlogging: parallels and contrasts with drought. Plant Physiology 197: kiae336.
Simpson E, Haverroth EJ, Taggart M, Andrade MT, Villegas DA, Carbajal EM, Oliveira LA, Suchoff D, Milla-Lewis S, Cardoso AA (2024) Dehydration tolerance rather than avoidance explains drought resistance in zoysiagrass. Physiologia Plantarum 176: e14622.
Pereira TS, Oliveira LA, Andrade MT, Haverroth EJ, Cardoso AA, Martins SCV (2024) Linking water‐use strategies with drought resistance across herbaceous crops. Physiologia Plantarum 176: e14114