Upgrade Equipment

Greenhouses

Our greenhouses are located in two buildings C02 and E26 and are divided into 10 compartments (chambers). Each chamber can maintain controlled temperature, light, and humidity. Due to their versatile construction, the chambers can be used for growing various plant species, e.g. Brassica, Maize, etc.

Technical parameters:

• Light source: LED (cool white) or high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps
• Light intensity: up to 800 µE 50 cm from the light source
• Temperature: from +16°C to +30°C; +-2°C
• Relative humidity: 40% - 80%

Phytotrons

Phytotrons are walk-in plant cultivation chambers with closed banks or open shelves. They enable maintaining controlled light and temperature conditions, where light intensity, spectral composition and photoperiod can be selected independently. They are suitable for precisely controlled plant cultivation and comparison studies. Each single bank can have a different light and temperature regime.

Small cultivation chambers

Small cultivation chambers (manufacturer: Percival Scientific or PSI) provide adequate space for growing small plants to maturity under controlled conditions of temperature, light and humidity. They are suitable mainly for special applications such cultivation of algae or plant cultivation under altered CO2 concentration. Light intensity is adjustable up to 250 µmol/m2/s (PAR). Temperature range: +10°C to +44°C (lights on), or +4°C to +44°C (lights off).

AlgaeTron

AlgaeTron AG 230 (manufacturer: PSI) is a free-standing incubated shaker that provides a uniform environment for controlled cultivation of algae, cyanobacteria or plant suspension cultures in Petri dishes or Erlenmeyer flasks. It is equipped with three independently illuminated shelves maximizing a cultivation area. The intensity, mode, and timing of illumination in each shelf is controllable independently depending on a user defined protocol. The easy-to-read display located at the front of the AlgaeTron shows the set operating parameters and the current values. Intuitive programming allows multiple parameter changes in terms of timing, light intensity, light characteristics, temperature, and agitation.

Percival with CO2 adjustment

This cultivation chamber (manufacturer: Percival Scientific) is specifically designed for growth of small plants, e.g. Arabidopsis. It provides adequate space for growing the plant to maturity under controlled conditions. Percival’s Intellus controller is capable of controlling temperature, light, humidity, and CO2 concentration. Each shelf is lit with 17W cool white fluorescent lamps and 25W incandescent lamps properly spaced for uniform light intensity over the entire shelf.

Phenotyping station

PlantScreen System is designed for high-precision low-throughput phenotyping of small and mid-size plants, e.g. Arabidopsis or Brassica.

RGB digital imaging provides data for simultaneous in-depth analysis of plant morphology, architecture, and colour indexing. Kinetic chlorophyll fluorescence imaging enables rapid and non-invasive measurement of photosystem II activity. The integrated root module allows non-destructive inspection of root architecture. Methodological approach comprises in-depth biostatistical analysis (using machine learning, regression analysis, ANOVA, mixed models, Bayesian analysis, etc.) of any kind of plant datasets (phenotypic data, chemical kinetics, fluorescence data, chlorophyll data, and others).