The yellow arrow points to the campus expansion of the new greenhouse.
TEMPERATURE AND AIR REGULATION One problem Swaminathan and the team noticed in other greenhouses is improper airflow and hot spots caused by low ceilings, poor ventilation, and inefficient heating systems. To optimize the air conditions in the greenhouse, the research team requested fifteen-foot ceilings, a floor heating system, and HEPA air filters. “Tall rooms should, in theory, create the perfect conditions. Height, light, floor heating, and high volume of moving air make the green- house more stable and prevents hotspots– which is very rare,” Swamination said. Not only do the tall ceilings assist with airflow, but they allow for the research team to grow larger, taller plants, like Swaminathan’s sugar cane.
LIGHTING To Clevenger, one of the most important features of the greenhouse is supplemental lighting. “We can simulate twenty hours of daylight using LED lights,” he said. LED lights are cooler and less hazardous, and the lights’ color settings can be manipulated to simulate the sun setting and rising. “This means I can manipulate the flowering of my plants and minimize the time it takes to breed new peanut lines,” Clevenger added. Shades separate each grow room so that scientists can create the conditions required by their plants without interfering with those of the neighboring grow room.
Katherine Sanmartin, Research Associate, shows how researchers can regulate the temperature, humidity and the day length with the new state of the art greenhouse controls.
The Greenhouse is managed by Jason Bunn, Greenhouse & Field Research Associate Selina Pittman, Research Associate Katherine Sanmartin and Project Coordinator Kaitlyn Williams
HUDSONALPHA INSTITUTE FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY
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