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NCERA_OLD101: Controlled Environment Technology and Use

Annual/Termination Reports (SAES-422): [06/15/2007] [02/06/2009] [06/06/2009] [09/06/2010] [06/28/2011]

Date of Annual Report: 06/15/2007

Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 04/14/07 to 04/17/07
  • Period the Report Covers: 04/2006 to 04/2007

    • Participants:

    URL: Copy of participant list
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    Complete meeting minutes are available at http://ncr101.montana.edu/minutes/NCERA-101_2007_meeting_minutes.pdf.

    Announcements Ted Tibbitts (Univ. Wisconsin) requested that members consider submitting papers to the annual journal entitled Environment Control in Biology. This journal, formerly known as Biotronics, then the International Journal of Biotronics is an official English publication of the Japanese Society of Environment Control in Biology, the Japanese Society of High Technology in Agriculture, and the Biotron Institute, Kyushu University. The email for the editors is ecb@agr.kyushu-u.ac.jp. The journal homepage is http://133.5.207.201/j-seikan/index-g.html.

    ASHS CEWG Meeting Highlights Jonathan Frantz (USDA-ARS), chair of the ASHS working group, reported that planning for the 2007 meeting in Phoenix, Arizona was well under way. The workshop Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) in Horticulture, organized by Ray Wheeler (NASA-KSC), is scheduled for July 18, 2007. Speakers will include NCERA-101 members Bob Morrow (Orbital Technologies) and Gioia Massa (Purdue Univ). Jonathan Frantz also reported that the Crop Physiology Working Group was organizing a workshop on July 19th titled Irrigation Sensors and Control organized by Marc Van Iersel (Univ. Georgia).

    Administrative Advisor Report Ramesh Kanwar (Iowa State Univ) continues to serve as administrative advisor to this committee. Dr. Kanwar thanked the organizers and remarked that George Washington Carver had originally begun his studies in Iowa State. He indicated that the NCERA-101 (North Central Extension and Research Activity) committee is the oldest serving and best attended group in the entire North Central Region. It has had excellent partnerships with industry and is often highlighted at Directors meetings as a good example of national and international cooperation. Dr Kanwar discussed the state of funding indicating that the overall situation has been moving through a slow period of activity but some signs of improvement could be seen.

    Approval of the 2006 Meeting Minutes The minutes had been previously distributed to members via email. Erik Runkle (Michigan State) asked for comments or proposed amendments. None were made. Marc Van Iersel motioned to approve the minutes, seconded by Bruce Bugbee (Utah State Univ.), and approved by all.

    Station Reports Discussion A discussion ensued about the new format for the station reports. Erik Runkle re-emphasized to the group the importance of completing the station reports according to the new format guidelines  particularly the sections on accomplishments and impact statements (outcomes). Mark Romer (McGill University) mentioned that the reports served two distinct functions within the group - to fulfill the USDA mandate (as indicated by Erik Runkle and Dr. Kanwar) as well as a general source of information for sharing with other members (activities, equipment and unique problems or findings).

    E-mail Discussion Group Tim Mies and Ryan Stewart (Univ. Illinois) asked the group if there would be any interest in developing an e-mail discussion group for the exchange of ideas between members. The group expressed an interest in this form of communication and Tim Mies indicated that he and Ryan would investigate possible sites and report back to the group.

    Website report Mark Romer (McGill Univ. Phytotron) presented the website report in the place of Tracy Dougher (Montana State U.) who was absent. Mark Romer indicated that parts of the website (http://ncr101.montana.edu/) are in need of updating, particularly the sections pertaining to the history of the group and current activities. Ted Tibbitts mentioned that 2 useful resources were now posted on the website: The Growth Chamber Handbook and the Proceedings of the Lighting Conference held in Madison in 1994. Several members indicated that they often supply the URL to interested students and researchers for reference.

    Membership Report Mark Romer gave a brief membership report. This group is in its 32st year, and currently there are 139 members from 102 institutions, with a healthy balance among phytotrons, universities, governmental institutions, and industries. Mark Romer indicated that approximately 75% of the members attend meetings regularly and he wondered whether further action should be taken to encourage dormant members to participate. There were no specific suggestions offered by the group.

    Awards to Attendees Since 2005, additional funding available from sponsorships and registration fees have been used to subsidize the registration cost for graduate students. In addition, a Graduate Student Poster Competition has been held to defray some of the travel costs associated with meeting attendance. This years winners were Lashelle McCoy (Tuskegee Univ.) and Melissa Brechner (Cornell Univ). At the Awards banquet on Monday evening, a well deserved NCERA-101 Significant Contributor Award was presented to Mark Romer.

    Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters A.J. Both (Rutgers Univ) spoke to the group about the progress of the International committee preparing guidelines for measuring and reporting environmental parameters in tissue culture. The first set of guidelines (Minimum Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters for Experiments on Plants in Growth Rooms and Chambers) was published and presented at the 2004 International meeting in Brisbane, Australia. The guidelines are available as a PDF document (bi-fold flier) as well as two poster sizes: a smaller size for posting in Controlled Environment facilities and a larger size for presenting at poster sessions of scientific meetings. These documents can be found on the NCERA-101 website (http://ncr101.montana.edu/). A draft of the guidelines Tissue Culture Experimenters has now been developed and was circulated among the NCERA-101 membership several days before the meeting. A.J. Both requested that members review the document and send feedback within the next couple of months. The committee was hopes to have a final published document for launching at the International meeting planned for Florida in 2008.

    Instrument Package Report Bruce Bugbee (Utah State Univ.) reported that the instrument packages were rented 3 times from March 2006 to March 2007. The current balance of the instrumentation package is $962. There was discussion on the appropriate use of the package, and several ideas for increasing the usage were discussed. Dr. Kanwar offered to distribute note to Experiment Station Directors to remind them of its availability. Bruce Bugbee described the various instrument package options and upgrades. More information on the instrumentation package is available at the NCR-101 website (activities section). Interested members should contact Alec Hay (Alec.Hay@usu.edu) for information and bookings. Bruce Bugbee then introduced new psychrometric chart software that is available from http://badger.uvm.edu/dspace/handle/2051/2983.

    Measurement Instruments List John Sager (NASA-KSC) spoke to the group concerning a motion from the 2006 meeting concerning the development of a list of appropriate instrumentation for environmental variables commonly measured in controlled environments. The list of radiation, temperature, atmospheric moisture, CO2, air velocity, pH, electrical conductivity, dissolved oxygen, and water potential sensors is available on the NCERA-101 website (http://ncr101.montana.edu/).

    Project Goals Committee Desmond Motley reminded the group that a committee had been struck in 2006 to examine possible project goals for the group. Marc Van Iersel indicated that no progress had been made in this area. Dr Kanwar mentioned that the NCERA was designated as an information sharing group and did not require specific projects to fulfill its mandate. The committee was disbanded.

    Selection of 2007-2008 Officers Erik Rankle reported that the Executive Committee had investigated several active members and had selected Alex Turkewitsch for nomination as Incoming Secretary. Erik mentioned that the group was appreciative of the participation and support of industry members in the group. Members voted vocally and unanimously in favor of the nomination.

    2008 International Meeting Report - Florida Neil Yorio (Dynamac Corp./KSC) outlined the state of planning for the 2008 meeting. The dates for the meeting are March 8-12, 2008 and the venue (Holiday Inn Resort - Cocoa Beach) has been booked. The conference registration will be $275 USD for participating members, $125 for students and $100 for accompanying guests (spouses, children) who wish to participate in the tours, reception & dinners. The tentative Conference schedule is as follows: Sat - March 8  Reception; Sun/Mon March 9-10  Sessions & posters; Tue/Wed March 11-12  Tours of KSC facilities & local area CE facilities. The conference program is currently being developed with an international organizing committee. Details are posted on KSC website (http://www.lssc.nasa.gov/als/ncera101.php) and linked from the NCERA-101 website (http://ncr101.montana.edu/).

    2009 Meeting Proposals Two proposals were brought forth for discussion by the group. Mark Romer (McGill University) informed the group about an offer by Dr. Andre Gosselin (Dept. Phytologie, Univ. Laval, Quebec) to meet jointly at the International Symposium on High Technology for Greenhouse Systems Greensys 2009 to be held June 14-19 in Quebec City, Canada. Chieri Kubota (Univ of Arizona) spoke to the group about meeting jointly with the VI International Symposium on Artificial Lighting in Horticulture, which was being organized in Tsukuba, Japan for October 19-23, 2009. C

    A request was made for volunteers to consider holding a US-based meeting in 2009. Bruce Bugbee indicated that the group had last met in Utah in 1990 and that he would consider hosting again at some point. Erik Runkle also volunteered to offer Michigan as a fallback location should the international options not work. At this point the group decided to end discussion and poll the membership with an email vote. Result of E-mail vote on 2009 meeting An email ballot with background information on the International meetings was sent to the membership on 8 May, 2007. Approximately 45% of the membership responded (53 ballots). The membership voted to have a domestic meeting in 2009 (24 votes domestic/22 votes international/5 no preference). If the vote had been for an International meeting, the membership strongly favored the Greensys 2009 venue (27 votes Quebec City/ 10 votes Japan).

    The 2009 meeting will be a domestic meeting. The final venue will be decided by the membership at the 2008 International meeting in Cocoa Florida.

    Future Meetings Dick Gladon proposed that the group consider meeting in Iowa State University in 2010 or 2011. Dick mentioned that the group last visited Iowa in 1992 and that many of the facilities had changed.

    Adjournment At 2:15 pm, a motion to adjourn the meeting was made by Marc van Iersel. Seconded by Bruce Bugbee and approved by all.

    Subsequent activities of the group at the Tuskegee meeting included: " Presentation of Station Reports by members on Sunday & Monday " Group tours: Youngs Plant Farm, Auburn, AL; Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, GA and the Rhizotron & Greenhouses at the University of Georgias Griffin campus. " Special Awards Banquet  Monday April 16, 2007-04-27. At a special banquet organized by the Tuskegee University CFESH (Center for Food and Environmental Systems for Human Exploration of Space), The NASA/CFESH Award of Excellence was presented to NASA collaborators who had participated in the sweet potato program since 1986. Awards were given to Dan Barta, Albert Behrend , Bruce Bugbee, Tom Dreschel , Guy Fogelman, Yvonne Freeman, Bill Knot, Shannon Potter, Ralph Prince, John Sager, Ted Tibbitts & Ray Wheeler.

    Minutes prepared by Mark Romer. Revised and submitted by Gary Stutte, Secretary June 15, 2007


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    Agritechnove has brought greenhouses at the USDA BARC facility in Beltsville online, and nearly completed the construction of a new Biotron for the University of Western Ontario. Design of three USDA projects are nearing completion: 1)Agricultural and Research Technology Center in Salinas, CA, 2) Grape Genetics Research Center, Geneva, NY and 3) the Center for Health-Based Plant Genomics, Ithaca, NY. Design a new USDA Sugarcane Center in Houma, LA was started. This greenhouse will be about 30 ft tall, subdivided into hundreds of cubicles, and designed to withstand Category 4 hurricanes without damage.

    Alaska has constructed two greenhouses for tomato and lettuce production that utilize geothermal resources for electric power and heating. The use of geothermal energy allows for the continuous production of fresh produce in the far north. High tunnels have been evaluated for improving and extending the many crops, including leafy greens, various lettuce types, snap beans, peppers, onions, potatoes and culinary herbs. There has been high consumer acceptance of the produce. The high tunnel results show opportunities of r produce cultivars not fully adapted to high latitude conditions.

    Cornell developed a process based model of a tree seedling nursery to assist greenhouse energy management. The GUESS (Greenhouse Use of Energy & Seedling Simulator), model integrates a lumped parameter dynamic heat and mass transfer model of the greenhouse envelope with a process based model of the crop growth allowing the simultaneous assessment of energy cost and crop health and growth. Hourly weather data and crop/greenhouse parameters are provided as inputs; and a profile of energy use, indoor climate, and crop production are returned as outputs.

    Cornell evaluated several methods for controlling Pythium aphanadermatum, a devastating root disease organism, which has prevented successful hydroponic spinach production in the United States. Reducing nutrient solution temperature to 20 C (68 F) and producing commercial-quality crops within 14 days did work, as well as sequential production ponds where plants are moved from one to a second part-way through the production cycle effectively prevented infestation. This method requires supplemental lighting and daily light integral control to achieve sufficient yield before disease strikes.

    Cornell evaluated the persistence of three synthetic chelators, ethylenediaminetetraacetate (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetate (DTPA), and ethylenediaminedisuccinate (EDDS) was studied in a bench-scale lettuce production system. The EDDS concentration decreased rapidly within 7 days, most likely due to biodegradation. EDTA and DTPA concentrations stayed steady throughout the experiments despite additions to maintain a constant volume and loss of chelator may have been due to either plant uptake or photodegradation of the chelator.

    Duke Phytotron has modified growth chambers to in accommodate increased demand for genomic research on Arabidopsis for the development of plants genetically modified to resist drought, resist pathogens, and grow in salty soil and higher temperatures due to global warming. An underground conduit system was installed connecting the Phytotron and the TUNL (Triangle Universities Nuclear Laboratory) to allow direct transfer of the 11C isotope to the Phytotron C-11 chamber. This system will allow for real-time observation of the movement of carbon fixed by plants.

    Georgia is determining the impact of different irrigation scheduling regimes on peanut growth and development and to evaluate the application of a crop simulation model as a tool for irrigation scheduling. The CSM-CROPGRO-Peanut model was used to define the irrigation treatments by estimating the timing of irrigation and the amount of water to apply. They showed that the CSM-CROPGRO-Peanut crop model can be used for irrigation scheduling, but a variable irrigation management depth needs to be incorporated in the model and a correct characterization of the soil properties is needed.

    Georgia compared different vegetation establishment methods and products for erosion control. Rainfall simulator tests allowed measurements of runoff and sediment movement from lysimeters to me measured, and the impacts on sedimentation to be quantified. The study provides scientific basis for selection of various turfgrass establishment methods for erosion control of disturbed land.

    Guelph has found that high dissolved oxygen levels (e.g. 40 mg l-1) in the root zone have negative effects on plant root growth (e.g. tomato, miniature roses, Huang Qing) in hydroponic system, but that elevated levels above normal (~ 8.5) to 30 ppm may enhance overall plant growth and prevent or reduce pythium spp. Infection of roots.

    Kennedy Space Center completed environmental baseline studies for typical open cabin atmosphere in space (such as the Intl. Space Station) with radish, lettuce, and onion at ambient, elevated, and super-elevated CO2 (400, 1200, and 4000 ppm), air temperatures of 22, 25, and 28°C, and PPF levels of 150, 300, and 450 ¼mol m-2 s-1 with a 16-h photoperiod with fluorescent lamps. Biomass yields show optimal temperatures for growth and generally increasing yield with increasing PPF. Significant tipburn was observed on lettuce plants at higher PPF levels. A similar series of environmental factorial studies was completed with dwarf tomato (Red Robin) and dwarf pepper (Hanging Fruit Basket). Mild oedema (intumescence) continues to occur on pepper leaves, likely due to low UV radiation in these controlled environment tests.

    Kennedy Space Center completed volatile organic compound exposure studies at 100, 50, 25 and 10% of NASAs Spacecraft Maximum Allowable Concentration (SMAC) levels for target VOCs and threshold (T10, T50, and T90) levels were published for methanol, ethanol, 2-propanol, and t-butanol. Seedling bioassay results indicate that the threshold levels are reasonable exposure guidelines, although species and cultivar variation in sensitivity to VOCs does exist.

    Kentucky has continued to develop systems to evaluate the effects of low oxygen fumigation on whole plant responses.

    Michigan has led a team of collaborators including scientists at Rutgers University, University of Georgia, and University of Florida to develop and compile resource documents that can be used by greenhouse growers to help determine options for consuming less energy and improving production efficiency. This information is available online at www.hrt.msu.edu/energy/Notebook.htm and includes articles on greenhouse lighting, temperature and scheduling, energy-saving technologies, alternative fuels, and energy grant and loan opportunities.

    North Carolina refined a web-based system linking user submitted proposals and data collection from chambers that reduces paperwork and reentry of data. Work has begun on implementing remote data monitoring and control of chambers.

    Ohio continues to develop Virtual Grower software at USDA-ARS GPRG, a decision support tool for greenhouse growers. In the last 12 months, a shade curtain feature, detailed scheduling, and additional fuel types were added. Current versions are being tested that have plants growth reacting to set points and photoperiods, more shade curtain options, and better descriptions of infiltration. More than 1,200 copies have been distributed.

    Ohio determined the effects of a water barrier between light sources and plants in a chamber at OSU. It was found that the barrier cuts down long wave energy but does not affect PAR intensity. As a result, plant canopy temperature is lower compared to that without the barrier. Lower canopy temperature, in otherwise similar environment (e.g. air temperature, air relative humidity, and PAR level) in the chamber, is likely to reduce transpiration, and reduce energy costs.

    Ohio developed a novel tissue preparation procedure was developed by USDA-ARS GPRG for analysis of Si in an ICP-OES that allows us to detect and quantify tissue Si at concentrations of <10 ppm dry weight and <0.1 ppm in solution. USDA-ARS GPRG used the technique to test 15 floriculture species for their ability to take up and accumulate Si with zinnia (1.5% dry weight) and verbena (0.8% dry weight) accumulating the most.

    ORBITEC developed an LED lighting system that incorporates adaptive control, sensing plant location and powering only those LEDs that are adjacent to plant tissue and delivered to Purdue University for further testing.

    Purdue has conducted experiments in tall chamber and high-bay growth rooms to evaluate the effects of light quality, planting density, pot size, and temperature management to regulate crop size have been progressing. These experiments have demonstrated a high correlation between average stem diameter and grams of seed produced (r=0.98). This relationship was much stronger than that of plant height or total biomass.

    Purdue has continued evaluating the use of intracanopy and overhead LED lighting systems with cowpea and dwarf pepper. They found that at either 10% or 15% blue (440 nm), dramatic intumescence (oedema) growth developed on leaves, sepals, and meristematic tissues. These growths were not prevented with the addition of 365 nm light, suggesting that wavelength shorter than 365 nm UV-A is necessary to mitigate intumescence in Triton pepper.

    Rutgers developed an energy audit checklist that growers can use to evaluate their operations and/or to make smart energy decisions regarding retrofits and/or new construction.

    Rutgers initiated greenhouse floor heating research was conducted in an experimental open-roof greenhouse. Extensive measurements were collected and used for a computer simulation model that evaluates temperatures and heat distribution throughout the crop environment. The resulting recommendations for the design and operation of greenhouse floor heating systems can be directly applied by greenhouse growers.

    Utah has found that the threshold for ethylene sensitivity is lower than we once thought. Vegetative growth is significantly reduced by continuous exposure to only 20 ppb ethylene in several crops. Ethylene dramatically reduces stem elongation in many species, but it increases stem elongation in several other species. 1-MCP reduces the detrimental effects of ethylene, but the protective effect last only 3 to 4 days.

    Wisconsin is in the process of upgrading the environmental control system for the Biotron to a single system for the entire building, which will improve environmental control and reduce energy costs. An energy audit has determined that replacing the 1500 T12VHO lamps used in the Biotron with T5HO lamps could save 47% in energy with an additional savings in the air conditioning load by removing roughly half of the heat from the space.

    Impact Statements:
    1. The extreme seasonal variations of high latitude areas limit the availability of fresh, locally grown produce. High tunnel research in Alaska has been shown to be a successful regional management technique to improve and overcome seasonal inconsistencies in field production of snap beans, strawberries and other crops for high value specialty local markets. Local producers are now using high tunnels for consistent, quality and increased production to capture premium marketing and price opportunities
    2. Alternative energy sources, such as geothermal energy, are being developed to allow year-round production of fresh produce in greenhouse or controlled environment facilities in rural communities
    3. Cornell University has developed, tested, and proved a method to produce hydroponic baby spinach continuously with root zone temperature control that suppresses and slows the reproduction cycle of the disease without undue suppression of spinach growth. Continuous production of hydroponic spinach has not been successful in this country due to frequent devastation of the crop by the root rot disease, Pythium aphanadermatum.
    4. Local production, year-round, of fresh spinach has, thereby, been essentially impossible. Repeated experiments showed the method, keeping the root zone at 20oC, was able to suppress disease outbreaks and even return a diseased production system to root and plant health
    5. Cornell University has shown that light is highly destructive of chelators, even with exposure to modest levels for less than half an hour. This result should lead to important hydroponic production protocol changes to keep the nutrient solution continuously in the dark. The discovery also suggests an advantage of deep-flow production systems compared to nutrient film or other hydroponic systems.
    6. Corn is affected by a number of pests that limit production. A corn breeding research program at the Duke Phytotron, by using hybrids of corn ancestors, has developed rootworm resistant corn hybrids.
    7. A private corporation using the Duke Phytotron facility has (1) discovered a new class of genes that provide high levels of tolerance to the herbicide glyphosate, (2) discovered several new families of insecticidal genes with proven activity against the European corn borer, (3) discovered a gene for resistance to corn rootworm, and (4) developed technologies to create a transgenic solution to soybean cyst nematode.
    8. Research at the University of Georgia has shown that efficiency can be increased by applying water based on the actual needs of the crops. This can be done using automated irrigation controllers that maintain substrate water content at a grower-determined level. Research indicates that a substrate water content of 20-25% (v/v) is adequate for most crops. Using automated controllers to maintain this substrate water level may reduce water use by 40% to 70%.
    9. Organic agriculture is a rapidly expanding component of agriculture. The University of Georgia is looking at the production of blueberries in high tunnels, with the goal to achieve an early harvest, which presumably would result in premium prices. In 2007, ripening of blueberries in high tunnels started in early to mid-April, approximately six weeks before the normal harvest season.
    10. Researchers at Michigan State University learned that flower initiation of potted Phalaenopsis orchids was inhibited if the day temperature was sufficiently high (>26°C), even when the night temperature set point is cool (e.g. 17°C). This suggests that during Phalaenopsis production, a cool night temperature set point could be used to inhibit flowering if the day temperature set point was sufficiently warm.
    11. This production strategy could have a significant economic impact for commercial growers because about 80% of the energy for heating a greenhouse is required at night.
    12. Researchers at Michigan State University have shown that properly managing light intensity during propagation can reduce both rooting time and subsequent time to flower by at least 3 weeks in petunia and New Guinea impatiens. Thus, providing higher light intensities during propagation has the potential to reduce cutting losses by up to 10% and propagation time by 75%.
    13. Consistent production of plants in closed chambers will be required during long duration space missions. NASAs Kennedy Space Center, completed an environmental response study to that characterized potential salad crops to be used as dietary augmentation for astronauts in a 3 x 3 factorial study with CO2, light, and temperature.
    14. These experiments have established a dataset on the effects of environment on edible and total biomass yields, water use, nutrient uptake, and anti-oxidant capacity within the edible biomass of lettuce, radish, green onion, tomato, and bell pepper. Future plans are to incorporate these baseline data into a model for predicting yield and input requirements in spacecraft, and apply to models for terrestrial production in controlled environments.
    15. Atmospheric contaminants affect the early growth and development of many plants. NASAs Kennedy Space Center developed VOC threshold levels that can be used to establish exposure guidelines for spacecraft and commercial production facilities. Utah State has found that vegetative growth is significantly reduced by continuous exposure to only 20 ppb ethylene in several crops. The application of 1-MCP reduces the detrimental effects of ethylene, but the protective effect last only 3 to 4 days.
    16. Light Emitting diodes (LEDs) are currently expensive, and their use in commercial controlled environmental agriculture systems is not practical. Orbitec is designing large scale LED units for use in horticultural applications including growth chamber lighting, tissue culture lighting, and supplemental greenhouse lighting. These arrays will be used to develop design refinements, hopefully leading to the production of affordable large LED lighting systems.
    17. Rutgers has developed an energy audit checklist for commercial greenhouse operations. The checklist has been distributed throughout the northeast and beyond. Growers who implemented the information have been able to (conservatively) realize energy savings between 5 and 30%.
    18. Computer models provide a valuable tool for greenhouse growers to manage energy and maximizing productivity. USDA-ARS GPRG and OSU have developed decision support software for greenhouses and distributed more than 1,200 copies to growers in the Ohio area. An instrument package, similar to that used by the NCERA-101 committee has been assemble and made available to growers for sensor calibration.
    19. The Tomatosphere project at the University of Guelph uses the excitement of space exploration as a medium for teaching students about science, space and agriculture. Tomatosphere is an educational outreach project involving more than 6000 classrooms in Canada, US and other countries.
    Last Modified: 22-Jul-2007

    Date of Annual Report: 02/06/2009

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 03/08/00 to 03/12/08
  • Period the Report Covers: 10/2008 to 09/2009

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    Brief Summary of Annual Meeting Complete meeting minutes are available at http://ncr101.montana.edu/meetings_past.htm

    Opening: Erik Runkle, 2008 chair, made some opening remarks and thanked the following members for their contributions to this meeting: Dave Fleisher for the meeting program, Gary Stutte, Neil Yorio, Ray Wheeler and John Sager for organizing the meeting, the Program Committee, especially Lynton Incoll for his interest in the working group and constructive input, and the continuing membership secretary  Mark Romer for providing a cohesive communication service year-round.

    Announcements: Three conferences that may be of interest to this group will be held in the next two years: Greensys 2009, June 14  19 2009, at Laval University, Quebec City, Canada, ISHS International Workshop on Greenhouse Environment Control and Crop Production in Semi-Arid Environments, October 20  24 2008, at Tucson, AZ (Abstract submission April 8, 2008), and International Symposium on Light in Horticulture, ISHS, November 15  19 2009, at Tsukuba, Japan.

    Administrative Advisors Report: Ramesh Kanwar, Administrative Advisor to the NCERA-101, addressed the meeting with his Administrative Advisors Report. Ramesh noted that registration for this meeting is 150 people, from the USA, Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan and other countries. The committee structure consists of collaboration by all members, with other contacts and strong industry support. The presentations at this meeting are impressive. For example, the Australian presenters indicated funding of $40M for facilities, and $4M + funding for staff. The committee is very successful and has a high impact. It is also well placed for the future. Older members, Ted Tibbitts, Bob Langhans and others, remain active and provide valuable training for newer members. In the 10 years that Ramesh Kanwar has been administrative advisor, we have met at a new location every year.

    Dr. Kanwar reminded group that the committee had a number of milestones to meet which included that the annual report and impact statement to be posted on the NCRA website within 60 days, that we are at the midterm review is on a 5 year and that an impact statement is needed. He noted that the impact statements are different from last year and passed out examples.

    Ramesh Kanwar emphasized the importance of international cooperation and stated, We have started a tradition in this group to travel overseas every 4 to 5 years. Dont lose this tradition. In the past we have met in the UK and in Australia.

    CSREES Representative Report: Daniel Schmoldt, National Project Leader, Plant and Animal Systems, reported that CSREES funding saw a 0.75% increase before a 0.7% across the board rescission, to $1,198.8M. NRI (the USDA National Research Initiative) is funded to $ 190.8M. Up to 26% of NRI funds can be used for integrated projects. NRI bio based products program will have increased funding. Congressional earmarks are back  probably more, but with 25% reduction in funds from 2006. Bio energy and bio based products are up. Dr. Schmoldt noted that Farm bill legislation expired at the end of last year, but has been extended to March 15. Dr. Schmoldt provided links to the draft language of the Farm Bill and the Specialty crop initiative and encouraged members to be active in promoting the value of there work.

    Approval of 2007 Meeting Minutes: Gary Stutte and Mark Romer presented the Minutes of the 2007 meeting in Tuskegee. The members recognized Mark Romers work on behalf of the committee, which goes far beyond his role as Membership Secretary. Gary Stutte reported that full copy of the 2007 Meeting Minutes are posted on the NCERA 101 webpage and that the Annual report and summary minutes are posted on the USDA website (http://www.nimss.umd.edu/homepages/saes.cfm?trackID=7936). Motion to accept the Minutes of the 2007 meeting in Tuskegee: Bruce Bugbee. Seconded: Ron Lacey. All were in favor.

    Membership and Website Report: Mark Romer reported that there is no real change in the total number of members. Current membership is posted on the website (http://ncr101.montana.edu/members.htm). Ted Tibbitts has updated the website and modifications will be posted soon. Mark also noted that the group is now 33 years old.

    Bruce Bugbee raised a question about universities and states that were active in controlled environment research, but not active in the committee. . Bruce Bugbee moved that a form letter be written, inviting participation in the NCERA-101, signed by the committee chair of the committee. Members were also encouraged to approach individuals and institutions that are presently not represented. Ramesh Kanwar commented that the model of this committee is to encourage the participation of the private sector in public/private partnerships.

    Membership Awards: Since 2002, the contributions of selected members have been recognized by the group during the annual meeting. This year, Bruce Bugbee (Utah State University) and Ray Wheeler (Kennedy Space Center) were presented with the 20 Year Member Award while Dave Tremmel (Duke University) and L.D. Incoll (Leeds University, UK) received the Significant Contributor Award. NCERA-101 awards are documented on the group website at http://ncr101.montana.edu/awards.htm

    Email Discussion Group Mark Romer revisited the proposal from 2007 of forming an E-mail forum (discussion group). This was not discussed at length due to time limitations.

    Instrument Package Report. Bruce Bugbee announced the poster on the instrument package and handed out copies. The instrument package circulates among the members and it could be sent to our international members in the UK or Australia. It contains (among other instruments), the following: Photosynthetic radiation calibration package, Net radiometer (Eppley), Spectroradiometer, Humidity package for calibrating humidity instruments. It was strongly suggested that experiment station directors be approached to support the use of this instrument package on their stations.

    International Committee on Controlled Environment Guidelines (ICCEG) report: A.J. Both reported on activities a subcommittee of the ICCEG (International Committee on Controlled Environment Guidelines), namely the Tissue Culture Guidelines subcommittee He distributed advance copies of the Tissue Culture Guidelines (Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters for Experiments in Plant Tissue Culture Facilities) brochure, and requested support and funding to print and distribute 5000 copies for NCERA-101. The Tissue Culture Guidelines will also be posted on the committee website (http://ncr101.montana.edu/Guidelines/TC-guidelines.htm ).

    Proposal to Translate Growth Chamber Handbook: Lynton Incoll gave a report on the offer from Miguel Gimenez, a member of the UK CEUG from Spain, to translate the Plant Growth Chamber Handbook into Spanish. (http://ncr101.montana.edu/Growth_Chamber_Handbook/Plant_Growth_Chamber_Handbook.htm ) There was extended discussion on the extent of proposal, copyright issues, and distribution. A motion was made to refer this to back to the executive committee and continue the discussions with Miguel Gimenez.

    Posting of Meeting Presentations: After some discussion, Gary Stutte agreed to link the presentations to the Meeting program. Presenters would be given the opportunity to decline the posting, or to remove sensitive information prior to providing web access.

    New business: Committee Officers: New business began with the selection of the 2008  2009 Incoming Secretary. The nominating committee consisted of Erik Runkle, Gary Stutte and Alex Turkewitsch. The nominating committee nominated Jonathan Frantz, who has accepted the nomination. The nominating committee requested additional nominations from the membership. Ted Tibbitts moved that nominations be closed. Bruce Bugbee seconded. All were in favor. Jonathan Frantz was acclaimed Incoming Secretary of the NCERA-101.

    Hosting of 2009 Annual Meeting: Bruce Bugbee and Utah State University accepted the committees invitation to host the 2009 Meeting of the NCERA-101. The meeting is to be held at Park City, UT. If we wish to have the meeting in March as usual, this coincides with the end of the ski season and hotel rates are at a minimum $200 per night. In April, the hotel rates change to $150. Mid March is OK for most members, and available dates are 7  11 March 2009 or 14  18 March 2009. General consensus was that the 2009 meeting should be held 14  18 March 2009. Note: Following the meeting, Bruce confirmed the date of the next meeting to be April 4 to 8, 2009.

    GreenSys 2008 Participation: Erik Runkle opened discussion on participation in GreenSys 2009. Chieri Kubota is on the scientific committee of GreenSys 2009, and Mark Romer asked if there might be the possibility of organizing an NCERA-101 hosted session. A poll of hands suggested that 25 NCERA-101 members would attend GreenSys 2009. Erik Runkle, Mark Romer, A.J. Both, Jonathan Frantz and Alex Turkewitsch volunteered as subcommittee members to work with organizing committee to formalize NCERA-101 support of GreenSys 2009.

    Future meetings International Meeting: Lynton Incoll presented a proposal for a 4th International Controlled Environments Meeting, to be held at the University of Cambridge in the UK, in September 2012. The initial proposal is that the meeting would be similar to the 1st International Controlled Environments Meeting, held in September 2001 at the John Innes Institute in Norwich, UK and that it would replace our regular meeting for 2012. Ray Wheeler moved to accept the proposal. Bruce Bugbee seconded. All were in favor.

    2010 and 2011 Meeting Sites: No other meeting sites were brought forth for 2010 and 2011. Dick Gladon mentioned that Iowa State was working on new facilities and would offer to host the group following their completion.

    Transfer of Chairmanship: Erik Runkle handed the gavel over to Gary Stutte as the new Chair of the NCERA-101 committee. Gary Gardner moved that the 2008 Meeting of the USDA NCERA-101 be adjourned. Ray Wheeler seconded. All were in favor.

    Adjourned: Meeting adjourned at approximately 10:15 a.m.

    Minutes prepared by Alex Turkewitsch, Secretary November 11, 2008 (edited 5 February, 2009)

    Research Needs for Future Impacts: " Continue development and characterization of instrumentation for the monitoring and control of environmental conditions to increase utility, reliability, and precision, and to decrease cost. " Continue research on approaches to reduce energy costs associated with controlled environment production. " Continue research on use of innovative lighting systems in controlled environmental chambers, tissue culture systems and as supplemental lighting in greenhouses. " Establish international network for the rapid and effective dissemination of advances in controlled environment sensor, chamber and commercial use. " Continue with development of Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environment Parameters in Greenhouses, Containment Considerations for Plant Growth Facilities, and Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Considerations for Plant Growth Facilities. Cooperators: IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, OH, WI, AK, AL, AZ, CA, CT, MD, MT, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC, UT, TX, USDA-ARS, USDA-CSREES, NASA-KSC, NASA-JSC, NASA-ARC, Dynamac, Greenhouse Engineering, Agritechnove, Conviron, Environmental Growth Chambers, Percival Scientific, BioChambers, Apogee Instruments, ORBITEC, Southern Sun Biosystems. Contact Information: Dr. Rameshwar S. Kanwar, Iowa Statue University, Ames Iowa (rskanwar@iastate.edu) Administrative Advisor. For more information, visit http://ncr101.montana.edu.

    Accomplishments:
    NCERA 101 Accomplishments (Complete station reports can be viewed at http://ncr101.montana.edu/station_reports.htm#2008)

    Agritechnove has completed the design of several projects, including the USDA Ithaca and Geneva facilities, Bayer CropSciences High-Containment and Low-Containment greenhouses, the new USDA Agricultural Research Technology Center in Salinas, CA. The Biotron at University of Western Ontario opened with the 6 high-tech biomes on the roof and a new BSL-3 rooftop greenhouse for University of Florida, Gainesville is on the drafting board. Agritechnove also began the design of a large rooftop facility for Dartmouth College, NH. Design is scheduled for completion early next year. Agritechnove joined the large A/E team responsible for the design of the new King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.

    University of Alaska has evaluated a number of different plastics for use in high tunnel production and evaluated effects on productivity at high latitudes. They have developed strategies for lowering the temperature of the nutrient solution as an effective approach to temperature control and local greenhouse strategy for continuous high rate of hydroponic lettuce production. In short season locations, these systems are especially valuable as a wider range of locally produced crops can be offered without competing with traditionally available produce. U. Alaska is evaluating the use of geothermal and other alternatives to fossil fuels to power controlled environment facilities. The approach developed in collaboration with Chena Hot Springs Resort to use geothermal or other alternative energy for greenhouse and controlled environment production is adaptable and suitable for rural communities of various sizes in Alaska and other remote areas.

    University of Arizona has enhanced their facilities with upgrades to the ebb and flow benches for lettuce production, high output LED lighting units and designation of a BSL-lab for performing transgenic research. U. Arizona offered a Greenhouse Crop Production and Engineering Design Short Course and has completed studies on the effects of EC on productivity and lycopene content on lettuce. In addition, a hydroponic plant growth facility for producing fresh vegetables at the South Pole Station, Antarctica was completed.

    Duke University has completed a major upgrade to facilities and is high demand to support growth of Arabidopsis plants. Research performed within the Duke Phytotron by agricultural biotechnology companies have identified over 60 new Bt genes, identified genes associated with root architecture and are developing low N corn genotypes.

    University of Georgia has acquired soil moisture sensors and a wireless datalogger which are being used to quantify the daily water use of bedding plants. They are finding that water use is much lower than anticipated. They have also found that application of abscisic acid (ABA) has the potential to reduce water loss and increase the window of marketability. They have identified, and are researching, dose-dependent issues associated with ABA usage.

    University of Guelph has installed eight computer controlled growth chamber systems which allow temperature control from -20 to +40 C and irradiance from complete darkness to 80% full sun. U. Guelph has found that direct root zone application on aqueous ozone can reduce the incidence of root pathogens and holds promise as an environmentally sound strategy for controlling Marchantia polymorpha (Liverwort) in nurseries and greenhouses. U. Guelph collaborated with NASA-KSC and evaluated the effects of hypobaric conditions on wheat, lettuce and radish. Two natural products that are early photosynthates of snapdragon were identified, and a possible role in insect and pest defense determined.

    University of Maryland completed construction of their new Biosciences building (http://chemlife.umd.edu/biosciencebuilding/), which opened on September 18, 2007. A new controlled environment facility was incorporated as part of 68,000 square feet of flexible laboratory space. The building is equipped with two Biosafety Level-3 labs, which enable researchers to safely work with pathogens, the microorganisms that cause disease. Other resources include a 475-seat lecture hall and eight conference rooms for teaching and professional meetings. In addition to the Biosciences building, a number of upgrades to the greenhouse facilities have been made to improve water use efficiency. There are 33 faculty-led research groups in Plant Science and Landscape Architecture, Entomology, and Cell Biology and Molecular Genetics that have active projects in the facility.

    Michigan State University continues to upgrade its growth chamber capacity and currently has 141 growth chambers in operation. It will be implementing remote access for many of the newer chambers. Michigan State University expanded and formally released the Greenhouse Energy Cost Reduction Strategies website (www.hrt.msu.edu/Energy/Notebook.htm). This website includes pertinent research-based information on how greenhouse growers in temperate climates can consume less energy and improve production efficiency. This resource includes documents on greenhouse lighting (15), temperature and scheduling (12), energy-saving technologies (20), alternative fuels (18), and energy grant and loan opportunities (9). Testing of environmental management systems to regulate flowering through limited inductive photoperiod and temperature management of several ornamental species holds promise for significant reductions in energy costs and reduced production time.

    NASA-Kennedy Space Center enhanced their capabilities by modifying an M-48 to have zero-humidity air input (via facility installed desiccant dryer) as a method of dropping chamber relative humiditys to as low as 10%, added capability of the CEL to perform Biosafety level 1P GMO plant research studies and completed construction of a Low Pressure Test bed (LPT) that provides a capability for maintaining atmospheric pressure, temperature, and relative humidity for a variety of testing applications. Testing and use of a new high output LED array from ORBITEC with >300 ¼mol m-2 s-1 PPF @ each of six wavelengths (400, 440, 520, 640, 660, and 720 nm) was continued in two VEGGIE units (Phase II SBIR grant from NASA) as a deployable plant growth system for producing salad type crops. The Lighting Testbed was enhanced with the addition of a 1 m integrating sphere and an Optronics spectroradiometer with spectral range in the visible and near IR (380 to 1180nm).

    North Carolina State University Phytotron continues to be in high demand and operational in 2007 at 96% of the recommended optimal occupancy, or 79% of maximal occupancy. Faculty and students from 10 departments in the Colleges of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Forestry conducted 87 different projects in the Phytotron during 2007. These supported work with Arabidopsis, agronomic and horticultural crops.

    ORBITEC has competed one LED growth room with a 60 square foot red/blue LED array divided into four sub arrays, each containing three light control zones. The arrays are water cooled so they remain near room temperature and can be operated very close to the plant canopy. Light level and red/blue ratio for each of the 12 lighting zones can be independently controlled. The room also provides control of photoperiod, temperature, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels and was designed for operation up to Biosafety Level 2P. Two additional rooms with similar capabilities are nearing completion. To date, tobacco (3 types), corn, lettuce, dwarf rice, and dwarf tomatoes have been successfully grown in this room. ORBITEC had two small plant growth units (Astro Gardens") included in the Education Payload Operations (EPO) Kit C that was flown on STS-118 to the International Space Station in August of 2007.

    Purdue University has completed all projects associated with the tenth anniversary of moving the facility. The enhancements include: replacing evaporative pads with ones improved with an exterior coating; replacing motorized shade-curtain fabric with improved material; plumbing acid injection equipment to our clear water supply to neutralize alkalinity. Work continues on the development of HELIAC LED lighting system, developed in conjunction with ORBITEC to provide intercanopy lighting to cowpea, tomato and sweet potato. Environmental management and cultivar testing has been undertaken to reduce the energy costs associated with poinsettia production. A closed-loop underground water-recirculating system is being installed that will provide bottom heating to a high tunnel production system. The high tunnel system will be constructed in the coming year and provide a proof of concept for off-season production of specialty crops.

    Rutgers University been actively developing and communicating information on greenhouse energy conservation. These include installing a new landfill gas fired 250 kW microturbine at the EcoComplex greenhouse facility, refining a greenhouse environment control simulation tool (spreadsheet) that allows the evaluation of control strategies including heat pumps and energy storage facilities, and completing a bioenergy assessment report for the state of New Jersey. The Bioenergy Assessment will be used to identify future research opportunities, as well as provide valuable information for New Jerseys bioenergy master plan.

    Texas A&M University continues to maintain and operate the low pressure plant growth (LPPG) system, which consists of six chambers capable of controlling atmospheric composition at hypobaric pressures. These chambers have been used to characterize the effects of hypobaria on ethylene production and yield of lettuce, with particular attention to space applications. A new project to design and develop a microalgal growth test bed for the production of biodiesel has been started.

    Utah State University is currently working on a number projects including MicroGravity Root-zone research to improve the physical characteristics and nutritional status of the root-zone media for the closed environments of space and determining the effects of atmospheric ethylene and 1-MCP on growth and development, and studying the uptake of compounds from contaminated soils through phytoremediation. USU continues to identify and characterize uniquely small genetic lines of crop plants. This past year we identified Redskin and Mohawk pepper as excellent substitutes for Triton pepper, which has poor seed quality.

    University of Wisconsin-Biotron has started replacing the old control cards (1970s made in-house) for the environmental control rooms with new Johnson Controls architecture and will be completed over 3 years. The Biotron is at 100% occupancy, so rooms will be converted to the new control system when projects end to not disrupt ongoing research experiments. The Biotron has conducted a growth trial of Brachypodium distachyo as a model system for biofuels research.

    Impact Statements:
    1. " Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environment Parameters in Growth Chambers has been used to standardize collection and reporting of environmental data in the scientific literature and increased the competence of engineers, scientists and producers to interpret and transfer that data.
    2. " Guidelines for measuring and reporting environmental parameters for experiments in plant tissue culture facilities have been adapted as the International Standards by the International Committee for Controlled Environment Guidelines and distributed to user groups in Australia, the European Union and North America.
    3. " The Plant Growth Chamber Handbook, which provides both technical and scientific data for the set-up, operation and maintenance of controlled environment chambers, is distributed by Controlled Environment Manufactures with the purchase and installation of new facilities.
    4. " The development of large scale commercial light emitting diodes (LEDs) as growth chamber, tissue culture and supplemental lighting sources is a direct result of design, testing and development of LED technology by the NCERA-101 committee.
    5. " Environment control systems and management techniques have resulted in 5-30% savings in energy use for temperate greenhouse production systems without losses in productivity or quality.
    Last Modified: 08-Feb-2009

    Date of Annual Report: 06/06/2009

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 04/04/09 to 04/08/09
  • Period the Report Covers: 04/2008 to 03/2009

    • Participants:

    URL: Copy of participant list
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    Executive Committee Gary Stutte, Chair Alex Turkewitsch, Vice Chair Jonathan Frantz, Secretary Erik Runkle, Past Chair

    Brief Summary of Annual Meeting Complete meeting minutes are available at http://ncr101.montana.edu/meetings_past.htm

    Opening: Gary Stutte and Bruce Bugbee made opening remarks and thanked the organizing efforts of Bruce Bugbee, Mark Blonquist, Alec Hay, and April Hay for this years meeting.

    Announcements: Conferences of interest to the group are GreenSys 2009 on June 14th through 19th, 2009 in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. http://wwwgreensys2009.com/; the ISHS Light in Horticulture conference to be held November 15th to 19th, 2009 in Tsukuba, Japan. http://www.lightsym2009.jp/; The Association of Educators and Research Greenhouse Curators (AERGC) conference on July, 20 to 23, 2009 at Duke University.

    Graduate Student Poster Competition: The NCERA-101 2009 competition had five participants and was won this year by Jongyun Kim of The University of Georgia.

    Approval of 2008 Minutes: Alex Turkewitsch presented the Minutes of the 2008 business meeting in Cocoa Beach, FL. The minutes are available on the USDA website http://ncr101.montana.edu/minutes/2008/2008_NCERA-101_Meeting_minutes.pdf

    Membership Report: Mark Romer presented the Membership Report (see meeting minutes for complete report. Highlights include an all-time high of 145 members representing a total of 100 institutions from 8 different countries and 29 States. Long-term members Gerry Dietzer and Desmond Mortley will be recognized as 20-year members and our Administrative Advisor Ramesh Kanwar will be recognized with the Significant Contributor award. Bruce Bugbee and Mark Romer worked on drafting a Letter of Invitation to use when recruiting new USDA representatives. Effort over the next year will help improve and streamline the process.

    Website Report: Mark Romer gave a Website Report; he thanked ongoing efforts of Tracy Dougher to maintain the website, and reported that updating member institution contact information is nearly complete. There will be an effort to consolidate annual meeting information, including international meetings, onto the single, Montana State University server.

    Email/Electronic Discussion Group: Mark Romer reported that the Google group site was launched in a limited capacity, and described the capabilities of the site to have user-defined preferences. Discussion centered on values of moderated vs. non-moderated sites, topics to post, and membership. Post-conference note: NCERA-101 membership was invited to join the discussion group, which is currently a moderated cite with about a half-dozen moderators.

    Administrative Advisors Report: Ramesh Kanwar presented the report. Thinking globally, he asked where is the NCERA-101 group going? There is stimulus money going to NSF, NIH, and DOE. All of last years proposals that were turned down due to lack of funds stand a good chance of funding this year. Short (2-3 years) time frame for projects is encouraged. Technology/sensor development is an area of emphasis for these projects. Some stimulus money is being given to the states for shovel-ready projects (about $100 to $150 million). New greenhouse projects that have been delayed are possible with this money. Challenge: how to move forward? Where should science and technologies go? Form a small group within this NCERA-101 group to meet with NSF heads. (USDA can come up with travel money to DC) to guide direction of national programs. For reporting, minutes are due 60 days post-meeting. Statements of accomplishments and impact statements are also expected, and he presented two handouts on writing impact statements: ask who cares, so what, what is new, and how does this impact the broader society? On impact statements, be inclusive with your cooperators because the project is easier to sell when there are outcomes. For the 2012 International Meeting, he remined the membership that NSF has a program for 10 travel grants ($2500 each) for a meeting (international). USDA has been able to co-sponsor up to $10,000 for graduate student travel grants ($500 each). Finally, he recommended we view budget cuts as how can we get better?

    CSREES Administrative Report: Dan Schmoldt presented report, to be changed to the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) report due to administrative transition. Fiscal Year 2009 appropriation was about 3.3% higher than FY 08; Agriculture and Food Research Initiative (AFRI) was about 5.6% higher over FY 08. Mandatory programs grew significantly due to the 08 Farm Bill. The transition from CSREES to NIFA was stimulated by the 2008 Farm Bill. The goal of the transition is to raise the profile of Agricultural Research. There will be a presidential appointment to head NIFA. He summarized by saying the transition should not affect users, reminded us to volunteer for review panels, which will provide direct input to what gets funded/should get funded, and when responding to a Request For Application (RFA), respond directly to application criteria.

    Instrument Package Report: Bruce Bugbee reported there were three users this year that generated $900 in income. The final account balance is about $1,000. It was pointed out that when meeting surpluses occur, the balance could be transferred to the instrumentation account. Last years surplus had a large surplus. Now, that balance (held by Utah State Ag Experiment Station) is about $12,000. This is because the committee does not have an account for itself. This issue will be raised later in the meeting under new business for more complete discussion. Discussion: Ted Tibbitts pointed out that the inclusion of the instrument package poster on the website was made, which has good descriptions of the packages. Bruce wondered if the package would get more use if the cost was cheaper. The group showed little interest in this. Utah State is now set up to take credit cards, but the cost to the instrument package is $25/month plus 3% of the transaction fee. The bill-to is Utah State University and additional notes can be added (instrument package, for example) to the invoice.

    International Committee on Controlled Environment Guidelines: AJ Both reported that the tissue culture brochure was handed out at Cocoa Beach, posted on the website, and more copies were distributed to member stations. A large poster is available for meetings. Our colleagues in England published a paper on these guidelines. Next focus is on guidelines for greenhouse reporting, and will be discussed at GreenSys 2009.

    Growth Chamber Handbook Translation: Erik Runkle reported that a letter to Miguel Gimenez Moolhuijzen, a member of the UK CEUG from Spain, will be written that allows translation, request specifics of what he wants from us, but state that NCERA-101 is not an active participant in the translation.

    New Business Committee Officers: The nominating committee (the executive committee) nominated Marc van Iersel for incoming secretary. No other nominations were voiced; Erik Runkle motioned to accept the nomination, Cary Mitchell seconded, and the appointment passed unanimously.

    Surplus Meeting Funds: Gary Stutte began and led discussion on surplus meeting funds. Briefly, at the 2008 international meeting, sponsorships were up, attendance grew more than expected, and they received some unexpected price breaks on hosting, resulting in a nearly ~$14,000 surplus. Some has been used for executive committee-approved items, yet there is still between $11,000 and $11,300 in a corporate account at Dynamac, which is a for-profit company. It was decided to transfer this to the NCERA-101 instrumentation account at Utah State University. Remaining discussion centered on use of the money including buffering future domestic meetings, travel grants for graduate students, subsidizing lower rates for instrument package, and international travel support. There will be an annual financial report on how the surplus is spent. Future meetings: 2010  Bob Morrow of ORBITEC and Peter Vanderveer of Univ of Wisconsin to host. Meeting will be March 20 to 23 on Univ of Wisconsin , Madison , WI. 2011- Iowa State will not be ready to host, but maybe in 2013. Michigan State is a possibility for 2011 (Erik Runkle as host).

    Mark Romer reported on the idea of having industry host the meeting. Every industry member he polled informally agreed that it was a great idea. This year, Apogee is a partial host, as was 2008 when Dynamac helped host. Ramesh Kanwar stated we should not be concerned about the perception of peddling influence through hosting.

    Mark Romer updated the group on his discussions with the UK-CEUG who have offered to host the next international meeting in Cambridge, England scheduled for Sept 9 to 12, 2012 with post conference tours in East Anglia and Cambridge University. The meeting will follow the format of 2001 with a proposal to hold 8 sessions with 20 invited speakers, individual poster contributions, and trade exhibitions. Lynton Incoll is soliciting feedback on potential session themes. Briefly, these suggestions could include 1) revisiting topics covered during the 2001 sessions, 2) updating relevant topics using a review format (changes since 2001), 3) updating the growth chamber handbook, 4) selecting new topics and suggestions. John Lea-Cox suggested food safety as a possible topic to include with the technology behind detection and monitoring.

    Station Reports: After a vote, electronic station reports are only required as of next year, not written reports.

    Adjourned: Meeting adjourned at 9:12 AM.

    Transfer of Chairmanship: The gavel was passed from Gary Stutte to Alex Turkewitsch.

    Minutes prepared by Jonathan Frantz, Secretary, April 17th, 2009.


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    NCERA 101 Accomplishments (Complete station reports can be viewed at http://ncr101.montana.edu/station_reports.htm#2008)

    Agritechnove continues to actively design, construct, and complete research greenhouses around the US and Canada. The National Arboretum greenhouse complex in Washington, D.C. was recently completed, and a greenhouse/ headhouse was built and opened at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Construction began at Bayer CropSciences High-Containment and Low-Containment Research Greenhouses in Saskatoon, and on a small BSL-3 greenhouse at U of Florida. Construction continues at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, with about 75% of the construction completed. Finally, the design phase has completed in the construction of a new greenhouse complex at the Sugarcane Research Facility for USDA-ARS in Houma, LA.

    The University of Alaska researchers quickly disseminate information from research studies as research is conducted, field tested and implemented in commercial production through the partnership with Chena Hot Springs Resort. Opportunity to view practical applications stimulates interest and encourages Alaskans to develop greenhouse projects for production and education. Tours are given daily at Chena Hot Springs Resort. Suitable techniques for northern production are also demonstrated in the greenhouse at Pikes Waterfront Lodge, a local hotel and restaurant establishment. Open to the public, daily formal and self-guided tours illustrate commonly used techniques to local and visiting individuals and groups during the summer months. A minimum of 50 daily visitors toured Pikes greenhouse throughout the summer months.

    The University of Arizona launched new projects of re-evaluating values of farred lighting in plant production. End-of-day farred treatment, a well-known plant photomorphological response, was demonstrated in tomato rootstock seedling to control the height of grafting union. Anther project examines efficacy of farred supplemental lighting in enhancing biomass production of baby leaf lettuce. Results obtained from both experiments addressed the need of pure and low-cost farred light source (using LEDs) for horticultural applications. A project was completed on low temperature storage of grafted cantaloupe seedlings, and found the optimum storage temperature (12 °C) for cantaloupe seedlings grafted on interspecific squash rootstock. It was also found that the cold tolerance of squash rootstock helped cantaloupe scion survive longer in suboptimal temperature environments. The ISHS International Workshop on Greenhouse Environmental Control and Crop Production in Semi-Arid Regions (October 20-24, 2008) was successfully organized for 160 participants from 22 countries. Conference proceedings was published (Acta Horticulturae 797) and distributed to the participants on site.

    The University of Arkansas report that the energy demands of growing pollen tubes cannot be met under heat stress due to decreased source leaf activity, and a calcium-augmented antioxidant response in heat-stressed pistils that interferes with enzymatic superoxide production needed for normal pollen tube growth. Results support their hypothesis that high temperature stress during reproductive development is a leading cause of decreased cotton yields in Arkansas. These studies have led to ongoing investigations of the use of the anti-ethylene compound 1-methylcyclopropene to ameliorate the detrimental effects of high temperature stress during the early stages of flowering.

    Duke University researchers have developed an imaging system, Versatile Imager for Positron Emitting Radiotracers (VIPER), to investigate the impact of elevated levels of atmospheric CO2 on carbon and nitrogen dynamics in plants using 11C as a radiotracer.

    University of Guelph researchers have developed four organic growing substrates and successfully used these substrates for producing organic tomatoes in greenhouse environment. They also developed a system that includes organic growing substrates for organic vegetable transplant production. They have developed an automated irrigation system prototype using soil moisture sensor and wireless technologies, which is useful for research or commercial plant production in controlled environment. The higher plant chamber for the MELiSSA Pilot Plant was shipped and installed in Spain (Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona), one of our European collaborators.

    The University of Florida researchers have demonstrated that long-day bedding plants can be produced outdoors in south Florida for early spring sales by February with night-interruption lighting. This strategy will enable the growers to utilize the early spring market to sell flowering plants, increasing their annual revenue by up to 15%.

    Kennedy Space Center researchers completed experiments to increase the bioprotective value of red leaf lettuce grown under LEDs under conditions that were relevant to long duration space missions without increases in volume, power or mass inputs. Another set of experiments in collaboration with the University of Guelph was completed to study the effects of reduced pressure on the growth, development, and secondary metabolite levels in two cvs. of lettuce. A series of experiments was initiated to demonstrate sustained production of lettuce and radish in prototype Salad machine modules in order to identify issues associated with plant production on a lunar base. Two prototype plant growth units VEGGIE and BPSe developed by ORBITEC are being used for these experiments. The Solid State Lighting Module (SSLM) was fully characterized as well as three other commercial off the shelf luminaires for: photopic luminous flux, scotopic luminous flux, color rendering index, correlated color temperature, total radiant power, radiant efficiency, luminous efficacy, color coordinates in four different color spaces, color gamut area, power spectral distribution, light distribution profile, photosynthetic active radiation (PAR), photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), and phytochrome photostationary state.

    McGill University researchers are studying the impact of LED lighting systems on post harvest handling. Our previous research in collaboration with the University of Tennessee used a lighting system that produced wavelength of 730, 640, 525, 440, and 400 nm. Maximum accumulation (fresh mass) of chlorophyll a and b and lutein occurred at the wavelength of 640 nm, whereas b-carotene accumulation peaked under the 440-nm treatment. Management of irradiance and wavelength may hold promise to maximize nutritional potential of vegetable crops grown in controlled environments.

    Michigan State University researchers determined the efficacy of compact fluorescent lamps relative to incandescent lamps to inhibit flowering of short-day plants and promote flowering of long-day plants grown in greenhouses at either the end of a 9-hour natural photoperiod or during the middle of the night. In some crops, flowering was similar under the lamps types but in petunia, flowering was delayed when long days were delivered by compact fluorescent lamps. In 2008, Michigan State University updated a greenhouse energy conservation and production efficiency website (www.hrt.msu.edu/Energy/Notebook.htm). Articles on greenhouse light management, temperature and scheduling, energy-saving technologies, alternative fuels, and energy grant and loan opportunities are available to commercial greenhouse growers.

    The Ohio State University/USDA-ARS, Toledo developed Virtual Grower software to allow a user to easily build, in software, a greenhouse that closely matched their facility so that energy simulations could be run conveniently. By controlling CO2 to 500 ppm, a commercial grower could reduce temperature by 3 °F and save 10% of his typical energy use, and lowered the carbon use of his production by 60%. A rapid whole canopy photosynthesis measurement system has been developed to address the concerns and limitations of currently available CO2 gas exchange chambers. A review article was published summarizing factors affecting photosynthesis measurement accuracy using open type whole canopy photosynthesis measurement systems.

    ORBITEC researchers have begun testing solid state greenhouse supplemental lighting systems. These are bar type LED arrays that allow sunlight to pass through. The arrays provide about 200-250µmol/m2/s of lighting at the plant canopy. The current arrays use only red (627nm) LEDs, but we are fabricating additional test prototypes that will have both red and blue (450nm) LEDs. ORBITEC is continuing to investigate tobacco productivity in controlled environments. This work is being done in preparation for eventual production of industrial proteins using genetically modified plants.

    Purdue University researchers performed greenhouse studies using rice ('Nipponbare') to optimize growing methods. This research identified the best root medium as calcined clay granules (Profile Greens"), with a fertilizer regimen of 15-5-15 fertilizer at 200 ppm N, twice per week in 4-inch pots. Experiments with Sumagic" on Bt corn demonstrated that 0.5 to 1 ppm of this growth regulator could reduce height without a negative impact on plant yield. Ornamentals research at Purdue University has focused on increasing the use of sensors and control systems in greenhouse horticultural production. The results of this research reduces the energy needed for successful crop production by increasing the efficiency of automation and supplemental lighting and reducing the temperatures needed for certain stages of crop growth.

    Rutgers University researchers conducted growth chamber experiments using LED lamps as the sole light source for tomato growth and development. Despite the increasing unevenness in wavelength uniformity as the canopy increased in height, tomato fruit developed and ripened normally. A new landfill gas fired 250 kW microturbine was installed at the NJ EcoComplex greenhouse facility. The system generates electricity and heat for the 1-acre greenhouse facility. Excess electricity is sold back to the local utility grid.

    Texas A&M University showed that lettuce can be grown under hypobaria (~25% of normal earth ambient total pressure), however, hypobaria caused no significant reduction of endogenous ethylene production. Hypoxia decreased the CO2 compensation point and decreased the CO2 saturation point of ambient pressure plants. While low light reduced the CO2 saturation point, it increased the CO2 compensation point, compared with high light plants. The results show that hypobaric conditions of 25 kPa do not adversely affect gas exchange compared to ambient pressure plants, and may be advantageous during hypoxia stress.

    The University of Wisconsin-Biotron researchers found that photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) influenced the outcome of the interaction of soybean and the fungal pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. University of Wisconsin Biotron has found out that replacing the T12 high output 1500 mA fluorescent lamps in the control environment plant rooms with T8HO lamps will save approximate 55% in electricity. An added advantage is the T8 lamps typically last twice as long as the T12 lamps. The T8 lamps fit into the same socket but would require new electronic ballasts, yet provide about the same light quality and quantity for plant growth.

    The University of Wisconsin-Madison began a cooperative project with ORBITEC on the growth of plants under LED lighting in the greenhouse. A new 1340 square meter (bench space) greenhouse with computer-controlled temperature and lighting capabilities was built. A growth chamber from Environmental Growth Chambers was also brought online.

    USDA-ARS Beltsville, MD researchers conducted four SPAR chamber experiments with potato and corn using sand culture in order to quantify responses to potassium (K), nitrogen (N), CO2 enrichment, or temperature. K stress in corn and potato were not observed at any CO2 level. The main goal of these SPAR studies was to improve crop models developed for the purpose of studying agricultural management options. Leaf area data from several SPAR chamber experiments, with water stress as the treatment, were used to validate the routines. Researchers studied the ability of important species to adapt to potential increases in CO2 and changes in air temperature. Studies with Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica oleracea evaluated the acclimation of net photosynthetic rate to temperature. Larger changes in the temperature dependencies of leaf level photosynthetic parameters were observed in Brassica as compared with Arabidopsis, indicating more capacity to acclimate photosynthetically to changes in growth temperature. A study with rice showed that the effect of CO2 enrichment on nitrogen (N) uptake capacity in roots depended on developmental stage and generally resulted in decreased nitrate and ammonium uptake during mid- and later-reproductive stages. Response, particularly floral sterility, of wild and cultivated rice lines to CO2 and temperature were studied in growth chambers to evaluate adaption to CO2 and climate extremes. Experiments were conducted to evaluate CO2 and/or temperature effects on biochemical constituents in important plant species. Growth chamber studies to determine if CO2 and/or temperature modifies concentration of secondary defensive compounds (e.g. nicotine) as a function of the C:N of the compound in tea, coffee, and Artemisia were conducted. The experiment tested the hypothesis that the concentration of compounds with higher N content would decrease with increasing CO2. Glutamine concentrations were decreased 70% in barley primary leaves that developed leaf yellowing in response to high light and high carbon dioxide levels. Elevated carbon dioxide and a mutation within NADH-dependent nitrate reductase decreased glutamine levels in vegetative stage barley leaves. (Yang, Chun, Fleisher, Timlin, Reddy, Bunce, Shimono, Ziska, Sicher).

    Impact Statements:
    1. NCERA-101: Controlled Environment Technology and Use Impact Nugget: NCERA-101 guidelines for measuring and reporting environmental conditions in controlled environment chambers and tissue culture facilities have been developed and adopted as the international standards for agriculture engineers, horticultural scientists, controlled environment manufacturers and commercial operators.
    2. Issue: Agricultural issues related to food and ornamental production, the environment, and dietary health are, and will continue to be, important components of the nations well-being. Research activities in production agriculture, environmental science, plant physiology, genetics and ecology are addressing these issues and various forms of controlled environments are required to obtain objective results. Providing sound scientific data upon which to base agricultural policy issues requires the ability to study plant growth and development in controlled environments.
    3. The use and variety of controlled environments for research, education and commercial production is expanding. The complexity of such systems has increased as demands for precision and accuracy by researchers and growers to maintain yields and quality have increased. Controlled environment facilities are expensive to operate and maintain, and require careful management to ensure desired conditions are sustained. A need exists for guidelines for the proper use and reporting of controlled environmental parameters.
    4. " The NCERA-101 committee (previously NCR-101) is composed of industry leaders, academic researchers, and leading controlled environment chamber manufacturers to define, discuss and develop ideas for agriculture industry expansion and enhancement. " NCERA-101 has taken the lead in developing information on controlled environment technology and disseminating this information to universities, commercial manufacturers, commercial growers, and other government agencies.
    5. " NCERA-101 has developed Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters in Growth Chambers, which have been adopted by the agricultural engineer, horticultural, agronomy and controlled environment communities. " NCERA-101 has published the Plant Growth Chamber Handbook, which is distributed by manufacturers of controlled environment growth chambers. " NCERA-101 has developed and distributed Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters in Plant Tissue Culture Facilities for adoption by the industry.
    6. " NCERA-101 maintains environmental instrument packages for circulation among members, which was developed by the membership over several years, to provide a common environmental monitoring reference to address the challenges of comparing growth studies across locations. " NCERA-101 has held annual meetings at different locations each year to share and disseminate information about controlled environment technology and use.
    7. " NCERA-101 has jointly sponsored international meetings with the UK Controlled Environment Users Group and Australasian Controlled Environment Working Group in 2001, 2004 and 2008. Another international meeting is being planned for 2012.
    8. " Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environmental Parameters in Growth Chambers has been used to standardize collection and reporting of environmental data in the scientific literature and increased the competence of engineers, scientists and producers to interpret and transfer that data. " The Plant Growth Chamber Handbook, which provides both technical and scientific data for the set-up, operation and maintenance of controlled environment chambers, is distributed by Controlled Environment Manufactures with the purchase and installation of new facilities.
    9. " Guidelines for measuring and reporting environmental parameters for experiments in plant tissue culture facilities have been adapted as the International Standards by the International Committee for Controlled Environment Guidelines and distributed to user groups in Australia, the European Union and North America. " The development of large scale commercial light emitting diodes (LEDs) as growth chamber, tissue culture and supplemental lighting sources is a direct result of design, testing and development of LED technology by the NCERA-101 committee.
    10. " Environment control systems and management techniques have resulted in 5-30% savings in energy use for temperate greenhouse production systems without losses in productivity or quality.
    11. Research Needs for Future Impacts: " Continue development and characterization of instrumentation for the monitoring and control of environmental conditions to increase utility, reliability, and precision, and to decrease cost. " Continue research on approaches to reduce energy costs associated with controlled environment production. " Continue research on use of innovative lighting systems in controlled environmental chambers, tissue culture systems and as supplemental lighting in greenhouses.
    12. " Establish international network for the rapid and effective dissemination of advances in controlled environment sensor, chamber and commercial use. " Continue with development of Guidelines for Measuring and Reporting Environment Parameters in Greenhouses, Containment Considerations for Plant Growth Facilities, and Energy Efficiency and Sustainability Considerations for Plant Growth Facilities.
    Last Modified: 14-Dec-2009

    Date of Annual Report: 09/06/2010

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 03/20/10 to 03/23/10
  • Period the Report Covers: 10/2009 to 09/2010

    • Participants:

    URL: Copy of participant list
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    Brief Summary of Annual Meeting Complete meeting minutes are available at http://ncr101.montana.edu/meetings_past.htm

    Opening: Alex Turkewitsch called the meeting to order at 8:15 am and welcomes the members of the NE-1035 group. He also thanks Peter Vanderveer and Bob Morrow for organizing this meeting. Peter Vanderveer (local host) welcomed everyone to Madison, WI.

    Announcements: Upcoming meetings of interest include the 1st Meeting of the American Council for Medicinally Active Plants (Rutgers, 20-23 July 2010), GreenSys 2011 (Greece, summer 2011), and the upcoming lighting conference.

    Approval of 2009 Minutes: Jonathan Frantz presented the Minutes of the 2009 business meeting in Park City, UT. The minutes are available on the NCERA-101 website.

    Administrative Advisors Report: Richard Straub (University of Wisconsin), on behalf of Ramesh Kanwar, gives the administrative advisors report. He commends the group on holding a joint meeting with the NE-1035 group and recommends doing this periodically to tap into synergy between these two groups. He also announces that the NCERA-101 project expires in 2011 and needs to be renewed. The new project proposal to continue this project is due this fall. Several deadlines need to be met to renew the project. The most important deadline is December 1, 2010, when the complete proposal is due December 1. This is a hard deadline.

    CSREES Administrative Report: Dan Schmoldt was unable to attend and to give the CSREES Representative Report. John Lea-Cox makes some comments for Dan Schmoldt and mentions that there have been changes USDA. NIFA (National Institute for Food and Agriculture) is a new USDA institute. USDA hopes that NIFA will raise the profile of its research programs and that this will result in larger research budgets. Mandatory USDA spending is decreasing, with more money going to AFRI, USDAs large competitive grant program. Other programs are being rolled into AFRI. There likely will be more of an emphasis on large multi-institutional grants, with budgets of $5 - 10 million. The Specialty Crops Research initiative will remain as a separate program at least for next few years, while other programs are combined in AFRI. USDA has five new areas of emphasis: agricultural competitiveness, nutrition and obesity, climate change, food safety, and energy security. The expected 2011 budget for AFRI is expected to be $262 million, with a longterm goal of up to $800 million. All programs are going to be trans-disciplinary. John Lea-Cox then describers his experience with SCRI proposals, and mentions that matching issues can be particularly hard to deal with.

    Membership Report: Mark Romer presented the Membership Report (see meeting minutes for complete report). There currently are 150 members, from 104 institutions, 29 states, and 8 countries, with several new people attending this year. We now have a letter of invitation, which can be used to recruit new members/recruits for this group. The chair is responsible for sending these letters. If someone has a need for such a letter, contact Mark Romer or the current chair.

    Website Report: Mark Romer gives a brief history of the website, which was started by Dave Tremmel. The website has the groups history, as well as a separate page for each member, which can be updated by the members. The website has been expanded to include guidelines for growth chambers and tissue culture. The growth chamber handbook is on-line as well. The website was initially hosted by Duke, but transferred after Duke was no longer a national facility. Tracy Dougher (Montana State) took over web site at that point. She has been adding station reports and member information. A major upgrade was made several years ago to include the last international meeting at KSC and more history. Tracy Dougher has requested that we find someone to take over website. Mark Romer asks for volunteers to take over the website and Carole Saravitz at NC State volunteers. This gets approved by unanimous vote. The decision is made that the group will get its own domain name, ending in .org. The exact name will be determined later.

    Email/Electronic Discussion Group: Mark Romer than gives an update on Google Groups. This discussion group is currently functional, started in May 2009. 68 people signed up for this group as to date. There has been very little activity in this group. One of the problems is to make sure that people are aware of new postings. Currently the Google groups site is not very effective. Often postings to this group get e-mailed to the general membership as well, so there is a duplication of effort.

    Instrument Package Report: Bruce Bugbee gives the instrument package report and reviews the purpose of this package. It is a revolving instrument calibration package, and users should use it to calibrate their own sensors. There are four different packages available. Traditionally the cost has been $300/package, but it now has dropped to $100/package. Alec Hay administers the instrument package. The instrument package had a balance of about $477 one year ago, but the surplus from the KSC meeting has now been transferred into this account. The surplus from the Park City meeting also been added to account. The current balance is $13,792.22.

    International Committee on Controlled Environment Guidelines: A.J. Both mentions that this committee was started in 2001, to develop minimum reporting guidelines for growth chambers, which were completed in 2004. In 2004, tissue culture guideline project was started, and these were published 4 years later. In 2008, a suggestion made to start developing greenhouse guidelines. The goal is to have these guidelines in place for the 2012 meeting in the UK. This topic has been discussed at previous NCERA-101 meetings, as well as GreenSys 2009. At GreenSys, the decision was made that the outline at that point was too much focused on engineering and a new outline, with five focus areas has been developed. A.J. Both asks people to look at this outline and asks for people to volunteer to work on one of these five areas.

    New Business Committee Officers: The nominating committee (the executive committee) nominated Peter Ling (Ohio State University) for incoming secretary. No other nominations were voiced; Ray Wheeler motioned to accept the nomination, Dick Gladon seconded, and the appointment passed unanimously.

    Surplus Meeting Funds: Gary Gardner proposes that next years executive committee should present a proposal on how to use some of these funds to support the UK meeting and expresses the opinion that these funds should not be used to help plan our annual meeting, but rather as a buffer if a particular meeting has a shortfall. He also emphasizes that we would lose money without corporate membership. Alex Turkewitsch states that the executive committee will follow up on what to do with the surplus funds and look into funding opportunities to support travel to the UK meeting in 2012..

    Future meetings: Mark Romer gives an update on the 2012 meeting and relays information he got from Lynton Incoll. They have booked a venue in Cambridge (Downing College) in East Anglia, which is easy to reach from London. The program will follow the format of 2001 meeting, with invited review talks, about 25 minutes long. There will be eight sessions with 20 speakers, who will cover the historic background of topics. There will also be poster sessions and a trade exhibit. The full scientific program still needs to be developed. Dick Gladon volunteers to host the 2011 meeting. They will have new greenhouses going up, which could be toured. His offer is accepted by the group. Cary Mitchell indicates interest at Perdue to organize the 2013 meeting, perhaps together with Dow AgriSciences.

    Adjourned: Meeting adjourned at 12:25 pm.

    Transfer of Chairmanship: The gavel was passed from Alex Turkewitsch to Jonathan Frantz.

    Graduate Student Poster Competition: The NCERA-101 2010 competition had four participants and was won this year by John Snider from The University of Arkansas.

    Prepared by Marc van Iersel, Secretary, April 20th, 2010.


    URL: Copy of minutes

    Accomplishments:
    NCERA-101 Accomplishments and Impacts (Complete station reports can be viewed on the NCERA-101 website)

    Agritechnove completed the new High Containment Canola Research Facility in Western Canada. A very high-tech facility that holds promises of very productive research. Agritechnove also completed several USDA projects throughout the country: theyre now open in Washington, DC, Fort Collins, Louisiana and Beltsville while more are awaiting construction in Geneva, Ithaca, California and other stations.

    Cornell University has developed a risk analysis model for hydroponic, baby-spinach production in deep-flow systems. Cornell University also quantified the effects of environmental control on the production of a useful industrial enzyme by genetically-modified and hydroponically-grown tobacco. Germination and plant spacing at Cornell University for baby-leaf spinach were found to provide optimum yield at a plant density near 1500 plants per square meter. Double-seeding half the cells in commercially available hydroponic floats was found to yield as much as single-seeding every cell, with significant savings of root medium.

    Kennedy Space Center found that the concentration of the bioprotective anthocyanin pigments were increased fourfold in lettuce cv. Outredgeous grown under red LEDs through selective application of blue or ultraviolet light.

    McGill University is researching in 2 target areas with the first focusing on identifying biofuel potential of corn stover and greenhouse heating using wood pellets. The second focus area is using proteomics as a means to monitor organism growth. Research is continuing in LED for plant production.

    Michigan State University has identified how light duration and quantity influence flowering of range of ornamental garden plants grown in greenhouses. This information is being used by greenhouse growers to improve their scheduling of crops so that plants flower on time.

    ORBITEC continues to develop solid state lighting systems for biological research applications. Systems have been developed for research, growth rooms, and greenhouses.

    Purdue University performed controlled-environment optimization studies of strawberry, sweetpotato, corn, and ornamentals emphasizing lighting, temperature, and cultural variables. Crop gas-exchange cuvettes were developed that will enable real-time photosynthetic rates to be correlated with LED lighting parameters as well as CO2 and temperature variables.

    Rutgers University exposed extension personnel and commercial greenhouse growers nationwide to research and outreach efforts through presentations, various publications and evaluation tools. It is estimated that this information has led to proper greenhouse designs and updated operational strategies that saved an average sized (one acre) greenhouse business a total of $20,000 in operating and maintenance costs annually.

    The University of Alaska-Fairbanks research activities address emerging local needs for energy efficient greenhouse and controlled environment production. Outreach efforts provide information and training opportunities to experienced growers as well as those with limited or a recent interest in commercial greenhouse production.

    The University of Arizona developed a low temperature storage method for grafted cantaloupe seedlings (up to four weeks) that would save labor requirement of grafting propagators significantly. They also developed a computer vision guided crop sensing and monitoring system and a methodology to monitor nutrient deficiency which could eventually save labor to monitor crop quality and yield, as well as improve resource use efficiency. Finally, they have designed and developed the ACCORDION photobioreactor for production of photosynthetic algae and plant cell, tissue or organ cultures. We have confirmed in green algae that growth and chlorophyll content can be significantly increased using the same amount of light energy by implementing a composite lighting profile. We will be testing a prototype for the spectral phytometric light meter, a four-in-one light meter that measures and reports radiation in phytometric, quantum, radiometric and photometric units.

    The University of Arkansas has continued to develop techniques to measure the effects of high temperature and water-deficit stresses in cotton flower pistils in controlled environment conditions. These studies have improved our understanding of the effects of high temperature stress on cotton reproductive development in order to explain the yield variability experienced by Arkansas farmers and facilitate the development of methods of amelioration for yield stabilization and enhancement.

    The University of Florida has characterized flowering responses of 30 long-day bedding plant cultivars under the night interruption lighting to reduce crop time and improve finish plant quality for spring production. Additionally, the use of limited inductive photoperiod of long-days for limiting the duration of lighting was evaluated.

    The University of Georgia developed a prototype irrigation and fertilization system that can automatically irrigate and/or fertilize based on the needs of the crop. By measuring the water and fertilizer content, a controller decides when a crop should be irrigated or fertigated, assuring that water and fertilizer applications are in concert with the crops needs. We expect that this approach can greatly reduce water and fertilizer applications, while improving crop growth and quality.

    The University of Maryland recommended that growth chamber manufacturers use new fluorescent TL841 lamps to retrofit chambers that currently utilize T12 cool white fluorescent lamps, based on light and plant growth research conducted at the University of Maryland.

    The University of Maryland developed a web-based Knowledge Center for Water, Nutrient and Plant Health Management to facilitate and disseminate up-to-date information about water and nutrient management strategies and tools to implement best practices in nursery and greenhouse operations. The site now has over 600 registered users. During 2009, 16,132 unique visits came from 160 countries and 49 states with 2,549 (17%) return visits from both registered and unregistered users.

    The University of Tennessee developed a web page was posted to disseminate research information on Controlled Environment Culture to commercial producers, and a blog was created to interact with growers and potential growers on design and operation of protected culture production systems

    The University of Wisconsin Biotron continues to incorporate the expanding Deluca research program for the duration (2-3 year) of the renovation of the Biochemistry building. This commitment has stretched their resources, staffing and slowed the conversion to the new control system. The patents held by this research program are the top royalty (~15mil/year) generator for WARF (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation).

    The USDA-ARS Crop Systems and Global Change Laboratory in Beltsville, MD conducted multiple experiments in growth chambers on effects of elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration (CO2), nutrition, and water stress for several crops and varieties. A new technique for measuring leaf mesophyll conductance to CO2 in controlled environments was developed.

    The Ohio State University team is continuing the effort in developing a decision support tool to assess the potential of energy can be harvested from a greenhouse to reduce reliance of fossil fuel for heating and cooling operations. The USDA-ARS team in Toledo, OH released Virtual Grower 2.5 software; over 8,000 copies have been distributed since the original release of the software.

    Impact Statements:
    Last Modified: 17-Sep-2010

    Date of Annual Report: 06/28/2011

    Report Information:
  • Annual Meeting Dates: 04/30/11 to 05/04/11
  • Period the Report Covers: 10/2009 to 06/2020

    • Participants:
    Brief Summary of Minutes of Annual Meeting:
    Brief Summary of Annual Meeting Complete meeting minutes are available at http://www.controlledenvironments.org/meetings_past.htm

    Chair Jonathan Frantz called the meeting to order at 8:09 am and asked the meeting attendees introduce themselves.

    Announcements: " Erik Runkle announced an ISHS Lighting conference, International Symposium on Light in Horticulture 2012, will be held at Wageningen, The Netherlands, 10/15-18/2012.

    Administrator advisory report (Ramesh Kanwar) Ramesh welcomed more than 60 attendees to Ames, Iowa and made the following comments specific to NCERA-101 committee: " Ramesh suggested we self-nominate NCERA-101 committee for a multi-state committee award. He will help to put a nominating committee together to prepare a 1-2 page nomination package within 2-3 months. " Regarding to the review of the committee renewal proposal, we received a highly commended review with a minor concern that more references documenting multi-state collaborating effort is desirable. The committee will need to submit a revised report by June 1, 2011. " The meeting report should be submitted within 60 days of the meeting. " Possible sources of travel grants for our next international meeting include USDA, NSF, NASA, and DOD. Approval of 2010 meeting minutes (Marc van Iersel). Marc reported that the meeting minutes were distributed by email, revised to address several comments, and solicited revision suggestions from the meeting attendees. Hearing none, Mark Romer motioned to accept the meeting minutes as is, seconded by Bruce Bugbee, and unanimously approved.

    Membership report (Mark Romer) " Currently we have 150 members representing 109 institutions from 8 countries. " Google discussion group: the discussion group was originally limited to signed-up members, while only half of the membership participated. The decision was made to add all official members to the group for better communication. " A membership report provided by Mark Romer is attached to the meeting minutes as an appendix.

    Website report (Carole Saravitz) o The website host was moved from University of Montana to NC State. The Website name is www.controlledenvironments.org with pointers NCERA101.org and NCR101.org

    ASHS Working Group report (Bob Morrow) " Met yesterday (4/30/2011) with 16 attendees " ASHS maintains a website for each working group including controlled environment working group. " ASHS has instituted an annual student paper award for protected environment area. Papers presented at controlled environment sessions will be considered. " The working group will co-sponsor a workshop on challenges and opportunities of medical cannabis for professional horticulturist at the 2011 ASHS Annual Conference. " 2012 ASHS workshop ideas include greenhouse cooling and high tunnel. Other ideas are welcome. Phytotronics Newsletter report (Jonathan Frantz) Per Ted Tibbitts suggestion, Jonathan scanned and converted 1300 pages of hard copy Phytotronics Newletter to PDF files. The files will be forwarded to Carole for web posting. He also commented on finding interesting information on early PGR, closed-gas exchange work, and some documentation of the 1st meeting of this group. Further, Jonathan noted the conversion process was not able to convert everything due to symbols. Ted Tibbitts stated that proof reading help is welcome.

    Instrumentation package report (Bruce Bugbee) NCERA-101 Instrument Package Account has a current balance of $14,237. Incomes were from company contributions, not instrument package usage. There was no usage of the instrument package last year.

    Bruce solicited suggestions of new instruments. The following instruments were mentioned by the name in parentheses for possible new instruments: an instrument with an accuracy down to 200 nm (Gary Gardner), an UV-C meter (Ray Wheeler), chlorophyll meter (John Lea-Cox), red/far red ratio meter (Gary Gardner), hand-held spectroradiometer (A.J. Both), leaf area index meter (John Lea-Cox), line quantum sensor (John Lea-Cox), porometer (Peter Ling), CO2 analyzer (Peter Ling), infrared thermometer (Peter Ling), anemometer (Peter Ling). Ted Tibbitts suggested to compile an instrument need list through web or Google discussion group. He also suggested circulating a signup sheet with price information among the conference attendees. Reg Quiring commented on the challenges of air flow measurement. Mark Romer commented there is room for new guideline on how to measure air flow, and how to use measured air flow information. Marc van Iersel suggested Bruce Bugbee to compile and forward a recommended new instrumentation list for the executive committee to make purchasing decisions.

    Greenhouse Guideline report (A.J. Both) A.J. first announced that Bob Langhans cant make it to the meeting, receiving Rutgers Distinguished Alumni Award. He also announced availability of Guidelines for measuring and reporting environmental parameters for experiments in plant tissue culture facilities brochure. A.J. then proceeded commenting on the Greenhouse Guideline development. Five sections, temperature, radiation, water, gases, and nutrients, were discussed at 2009 Greensys meeting. The four of the five sections are in draft form, additional help is needed for the fifth, nutrient, section. He suggested the group to provide feedbacks through sub-groups in breakout sessions today.

    ASHRAE handbook chapter update (Lou Albright) Lou provided some background information of ASHRAE (American Society of Heat Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineering) handbook and solicited help to revise chapters concerning plant production. He commented that the greenhouse related information in the handbook is very out-of-date, some are 30-40 yrs old and many units are wrong. For those who may be interested in participating, there is already a foundational document started by A.J. The document can be used either as a skeleton or foundation to develop a new chapter. Last year, two people showed interests in this effort, the group is looking for approximately 6 people for this effort. Please send Lou an email if interested in participating.

    Future meetings (Jonathan Frantz) " 2013 meeting: Cary Mitchel volunteered to host the meeting at Purdue University sometime between 3/1 and 3/15. Potential tour includes Dow Agro Sciences who has an extra-large climate control plant growth facility. Dick Gladon motioned to accept the offer, Henry Imberti seconded the motion. The motion carried with acclamation by the attendees.

    " 2014 meeting: Meriam Karlsson will explore the possibility of hosting the meeting at Fairbank, Alaska.

    " 2015 meeting: Carole Saravitz is willing to host the meeting at NC State in 2015.

    " 2012 international meeting: Mark Romer presented some preliminary information of the meeting. Erik Runkle reported scientific program development of the conference and solicited suggestions regarding to session focus, title, and speakers. Peter Ling reported the committee will seek funding to aid travel expenses of North American attendees who have needs. New Business " New officer election (Jonathan Frantz) Jonathan presented Nominating Committees recommendation of Henry Imberti as an incoming secretary candidate and solicited other nominations from the floor. With no other nomination, Mark Romer motioned to accept the nomination, Bruce Bugbee seconded, and was accepted unanimously.

    " Other items The group discussed topics related the ASHS Graduate Student protected environment paper award. Question was raised for NCREA-101 to sponsor a paper award for both ASHS and ASABE student members to reinvigorate controlled environment interest. Mark Romer asked if corporate sponsorship can be solicited to fund the award. Marc van Iersel responded saying other ASHS working group has precedence of corporate sponsorship to fund their awards. Gioia Massa suggested the committee may use our own financial surplus to fund the award. Mark Romer said we already spending thousands of dollars supporting graduate students for attending NCERA-101 meetings. Jonathan Frantz is in favor of seeking corporate sponsorship first.

    Jonathan passed the gavel to Marc van Iersel at 2:12 pm. Marc thanked Jonathan for his service, especially his incredible amount of work in the past year.

    Bruce Bugbee motioned to adjourn the meeting at 2:14 pm, Henry Imberti seconded, and approved by the attendees.

    Accomplishments:
    NCERA-101 Accomplishments and Impacts (Complete station reports can be viewed on the NCERA-101 website)

    Research at the University of Arkansas has continued to study the effects of high temperature stress on pollen tube growth and fertilization in cotton flower pistils in field and controlled environment conditions. These studies have shown the extreme sensitivity of pollen tube growth to high temperature and helped explained the yield losses and yield variability experienced by Arkansas farmers.

    Cornell University has initiated a series of workshops and student internships to train potential employees, managers, and owners of Controlled Environment Agriculture facilities. The University has upgraded a plant growth chamber with innovative luminaires from Cycloptics Technologies, LLC. The luminaires provide twice the photosynthetic light at bench level, while drawing half the electricity, compared to T12 VHO fluorescent lamps originally installed in the chamber. The University has installed a field test (beta test) controller in a commercial greenhouse that implements the daily light integral control algorithm patented by Cornell. Control suitability will be monitored and quantified during the coming year.

    Michigan State University quantified how average daily temperature influenced production time of 19 different varieties of ornamental plants. Together with recently developed, research-based information on other crops, and the Virtual Grower software program, greenhouse growing temperatures can be identified that consume the least amount of energy for heating.

    By monitoring soil moisture using a commercial sensor network installed in the University of Maryland Greenhouse complex, our Greenhouse research manager has been able to more accurately monitor water use in poplar, soybean and wheat crops. This has enabled management to precisely schedule irrigation events, minimize waste (in the form of water and nutrient leaching), increase efficiency and increased the quality of information and research material (based on researcher feedback). The sensor network is remotely available at any time to greenhouse managers and researchers, by using logmein (www.logmein.com) software.

    The University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada developed and licensed two organic greenhouse vegetable growing substrates to a commercial company. The University also developed a weed control disk for container plant production. Weeds were 100% under control and shrubs grew >50% faster in pots with the disk compared to pots without.

    The New England Plant, Soil, and Water Laboratory in Orono, Maine updated Virtual Grower software with an additional 600 US sites and is now compatible with Mac, Linux, and 64-bit processors; over 10,000 copies have been distributed since the original release of the software.

    The University of Alaska Fairbanks research activities address emerging local needs for energy efficient greenhouse and controlled environment production. Outreach efforts provide information and training opportunities to experienced growers as well as those with limited or a recent interest in commercial greenhouse production.

    McGill University, located in Quebec, Canada, has been researching in two target areas with the first focusing on identifying the potential of greenhouse heating using wood pellets and the second investigating light emitting diodes for plant production. Projects were completed in both areas with the construction and testing of a wood pellet gasifier and a full scale LED supplemental lighting experiment on hydroponic lettuce.

    Nationwide, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station has exposed extension personnel and commercial greenhouse growers to research and outreach efforts through presentations, publications and evaluation tools. It is estimated that this information has led to proper greenhouse designs and updated operational strategies that saved an average sized (1-acre) greenhouse business a total of $20,000 in operating and maintenance costs annually. Greenhouse energy conservation presentations and written materials have been prepared and delivered to local, regional, and national audiences. Growers who implemented the information resulting from our research and outreach materials have been able to realize energy savings between 5 and 30%.

    ORBITEC, located in Madison Wisconsin continues to develop solid state lighting systems for biological research applications. Systems have been developed for growth rooms and greenhouses.

    Studies by the University of Georgia on molecular and physiological responses of plants show that acclimation of plants to drought depends both on the severity of drought stress (with the most acclimation when drought develops slowly) and on the rate with which the drought stress develops (with more acclimation if the drought stress develops slowly). This has important implications for basic research, where the drought imposition rate and severity are commonly ignored and for plant production in controlled environments, where drought stress is at times used to harden plants off to drought conditions, or for manipulation of secondary metabolite production.

    University of Arizona (Dr. Kacira) developed a computer vision guided crop sensing and monitoring system and a methodology to monitor nutrient deficiency which could eventually save labor to monitor crop quality and yield, as well as improve resource use efficiency. The existing systems software capability is currently being improved for plant phenotyping studies. They also have been working on developing advanced climate control strategy to maintain desired air temperature and humidity in a naturally ventilated greenhouse equipped with variable high pressure fogging system. The initial computer simulations indicated promising results for water and energy savings using this system compared to fixed high pressure fogging system based on VPD control. The implementation of the developed algorithm with greenhouse experiments is currently under progress. Dr. Kubota of the University developed a photoautotrophic Arabidopsis culture protocol to distribute to basic plant scientists. This method allows normal physiology and growth of plants under in vitro environments.

    At Purdue University in Indiana, LED sole-source and supplemental lighting appears to give equivalent or better plant response than traditional lighting sources for a fraction of the energy cost.

    Kennedy Space Center reported a small scale salad production system using LED light source was incorporated into NASAs Habitat Demonstration Unit testing of surface systems.

    Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a decision support tool for estimating energy harvesting potential of greenhouses. They also validated a conventional methodology for greenhouse heat loss calculation.

    Impact Statements:
    1. The University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada developed and licensed two organic greenhouse vegetable growing substrates to a commercial company. The University also developed a weed control disk for container plant production. Weeds were 100% under control and shrubs grew >50% faster in pots with the disk compared to pots without.
    2. Nationwide, New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station has exposed extension personnel and commercial greenhouse growers to research and outreach efforts through presentations, publications and evaluation tools. It is estimated that this information has led to proper greenhouse designs and updated operational strategies that saved an average sized (1-acre) greenhouse business a total of $20,000 in operating and maintenance costs annually.
    3. Studies by the University of Georgia on molecular and physiological responses of plants show that acclimation of plants to drought depends both on the severity of drought stress (with the most acclimation when drought develops slowly) and on the rate with which the drought stress develops (with more acclimation if the drought stress develops slowly). This has important implications for basic research, where the drought imposition rate and severity are commonly ignored and for plant production in controlled environments, where drought stress is at times used to harden plants off to drought conditions, or for manipulation of secondary metabolite production.
    4. University of Arizona (Dr. Kacira) developed a computer vision guided crop sensing and monitoring system and a methodology to monitor nutrient deficiency which could eventually save labor to monitor crop quality and yield, as well as improve resource use efficiency. They also have been working on developing advanced climate control strategy to maintain desired air temperature and humidity in a naturally ventilated greenhouse equipped with variable high pressure fogging system.
    5. Kennedy Space Center reported a small scale salad production system using LED light source was incorporated into NASAs Habitat Demonstration Unit testing of surface systems.
    6. Researchers at The Ohio State University have developed a decision support tool for estimating energy harvesting potential of greenhouses. They also validated a conventional methodology for greenhouse heat loss calculation.
    Last Modified: 28-Jun-2011
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