Plant growth facility

More Information

About the Plant growth facility

The plant growth facility provides a glasshouse and a selection of Controlled Environment Rooms (CERs) capable of housing traditional and novel plants.

 It is also home to a variety of food plants used to culture insects in the invertebrate facility.

Technical specification

Controlled Environment Rooms

The facility features 9 controlled environment rooms that allow you to:

  • set and control the temperature range, between 10C and 35C
  • set and control lighting levels, up to a maximum of 500µmols.m-2,s-1 at ceiling level and 50 µmols.m-2,s-1 at shelf level
  • set and control humidity between 55 to 90% RH
  • provide optional far red supplementation light, using tungsten lamps

You can also set dawn and dusk times using the Fitoview Control and Monitoring software. This software can collect and report on a variety of data, as well as inform you if the parameters you set fluctuate outside a defined range.

Glasshouse

The glasshouse runs via the TC Vision Software, which allows for automated control of the glasshouses many systems to regulate temperature, lighting and humidity assisted by the glasshouse weather station. Day length and lighting levels are controlled via the use of supplementary lighting (Son-T) and blackout screens, temperature via thermal screens and automatic (screened) vents and misting to control humidity. Each room is watered throughout the day by user set Ebb and Flood benching.