A modern and highly sophisticated facility
The facility has the capacity for a wide range of research projects and is used for undergraduate and postgraduate teaching in biology, while also supporting national and international collaborative research.
The proximity of laboratories, equipment and growth facilities enables convenient analysis of plants from controlled environments on site. Soil and growth media are also prepared on site, avoiding transport issues.
Glasshouses
Sixteen glasshouses are available for use and vary from 27 to 55 metres squared. Glasshouses are fitted with supplementary LED grow lights with blue and red spectrum required for photosynthesis. Most of the glasshouses are fitted with energy efficient water cooling and heating systems to achieve tight temperature control that is controlled and monitored remotely.
We also have sophisticated CO2 dosing and monitoring systems to achieve elevated CO2 levels in glasshouses for experiments looking at the effect of CO2 on various plant species.
The PC2 glasshouse facility which can be used for containment purposes has certification for use with transformed plants.
Growth cabinets
We have fourteen sophisticated and fully computerised Conviron growth cabinets. These cabinets are important in achieving tight and accurate environmental conditions such as temperature, light, humidity and CO2 concentrations required for a variety of experimental programs. Cabinets are housed in a building adjacent to the glasshouses.