The Penfield group works to understand how weather and climate affect plant reproductive development and seed quality.

They are especially interested in the effects of temperature on crop yields, seed quality and seedling establishment.

Their work uses crop species from the Brassica family, especially oilseed rape (canola) and vegetable Brassicas, as well as model species such as Arabidopsis thaliana.

In this way they aim to understand precise mechanisms by which weather and climate affect crop performance, an consider strategies for increasing crop resilience, for instance using conventional plant breeding or genome editing techniques.