By Cameron Rudolph
Michigan State University leaders welcomed more than 100 stakeholders and partners to campus to commemorate the opening of the partially renovated Plant Science Research Greenhouse Complex.
The event recognized the first phases of needed infrastructure improvements that bolster MSU’s world-class plant science research, including installation of LED lighting, environmental control systems, new glazing panels to replace the aging glass shell of the greenhouses, and a new headhouse that serves as the facility’s center of operations. Taller ceilings also allow for the uninhibited growth of crops such as corn and sorghum.
Thus far, the $35 million project has been supported by the State of Michigan and units across MSU. While additional funding is needed to complete the entire facility renovation, progress to this point has been substantial.
Each of Michigan’s plant commodities is represented in the research greenhouses, ranging from corn and soybeans to blueberries, potatoes and several floriculture crops. Nearly 70 faculty members from the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and College of Natural Science utilize the facility alongside hundreds of staff and students, bringing the total number of facility users to more than 400.
Roberto Lopez, an associate professor and MSU Extension specialist in the Department of Horticulture, is an expert in controlled-environment research with leafy greens, strawberries and floriculture crops. Partnering with Josh Vander Weide, an assistant professor of horticulture who specializes in blueberry and strawberry production, Lopez has been investigating the interactive effect of vapor pressure deficit, as well as day and night air temperatures, on strawberry production in greenhouses.
Source : msu.edu