Bayer CropScience Vegetable Seeds has opened its new phytotron building in Acampo, California.
The company held a ribbon cutting ceremony last week to mark the official inauguration of the facility, which houses 10 phytotrons for growing plants such as tomatoes and watermelons. Phytotrons are growth chambers that provide optimal conditions of light, temperature, and relative humidity for development of diseases of crops.
The more precise and reproducible control of the environment is critical to disease resistance breeding. Tests can be conducted year-round in the Phytotron building, and with more reproducibility than in the greenhouse.
The company said in a press release that the building has been fitted with many advanced and sustainable features, including a high-tech wastewater filtration system which filters used building water and then transfers it to a storage tank for landscape irrigation use on the facility grounds. LED lighting also features throughout the growing chambers.
The building is expected to be fully operational by the end of the year.
“During the tour of the new building, the phytopathology team couldn’t help but brag to our colleagues about the capabilities of our new building. Now, we’re eager to demonstrate how valuable this investment is for conducting good research,” said tomato pathologist Mark Ricker.
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