NCR101: Controlled Environment Technology and Use
(Multistate Research Coordinating Committee and Information Exchange Group)
Status: Inactive/Terminating
NCR101: Controlled Environment Technology and Use
Duration: 10/01/2001 to 09/30/2006
Administrative Advisor(s):
NIFA Reps:
Non-Technical Summary
Statement of Issues and Justification
1. Societal Demands/or Agriculture in the Next Century
Societal issues facing agriculture in the near future include both environmental and dietary health
concerns. Issues related to environmental concerns involve aspects of waste management
including global warming, stratospheric ozone depletion, ground water contamination and
resource recovery. Issues related to dietary health involve the nutritional balance and quality of
foods (fruits and vegetables), and the availability of "nutraceuticals" such as antioxidants,
essential fatty acids, and other disease-preventing compounds in plants. Agriculture is both
affected by and contributes to environmental quality problems. And, plant chemical composition
(nutritional quality) is greatly affected by the crop growth environment. Providing sound
scientific data upon which to base agricultural policy issues requires the ability to study these
questions in controlled environments. The technology needed to address environmental concerns
such as agricultural waste recovery is being developed, but only on a relatively small research
scale, especially for space application by NASA. Attempts to scale-up this technology for
general agricultural use have met with limited success, with the exception of greenhouse waste
management. Development of this technology is being led by researchers in the Netherlands, but
further development is needed to make the technology transferable to conditions in the US.
Overall, the use of completely and/or partially controlled environments in both research and
commercial production is steadily increasing in the U.S.
2. Regional Considerations
Although not unique to the North Central Region, the NCR-101 Committee has taken the lead in
developing information on controlled environment technology and disseminating this
information to universities, commercial manufacturers and growers, and other government
agencies. This region also stands to benefit disproportionately from the development of this
technology due to the relatively short growing season, low winter temperatures, and low light
levels. A number of pioneering commercial ventures that have attempted to grow vegetable
crops in completely controlled environments were located in this region but none have been able
to operate profitably for long durations. Notable exceptions to this are Archer Daniels Midland
and a number of specialty hydroponic tomato and lettuce growers who supply local gourmet
restaurants directly. In addition, greenhouse ornamental and nursery crop production is a multi-
million dollar industry that is very dependent on the technology developed by this committee.
3. Composition of the Committee.
The committee is composed of official Agricultural Experiment Station representative from 8
states in the North Central Region (IA, IL, IN, KS, MI, MN, OH, and WI) and from 14 states
(AK, AL, AZ, CA, CT, MD, MT, NJ, NY, NC, PA, SC, UT, and TX) outside the region. The
USDA is represented by a member from the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory in
Beltsville, MD and by a representative ofCSREES in Washington D.C. Several representatives
from each of three NASA facilities, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA, Johnson Space
Center, Houston, TX, and Kennedy Space Center, Cape Canaveral, FL are associated with the
committee. The commercial sector is represented by private research consultants and private
companies supporting NASA, (Lockheed-Martin Engineering & Sciences in TX and Dynamac
Corp. in FL), and several members each of the two major Growth Chamber manufacturing firms,
Conviron and Environmental Growth Chambers. Of these representatives, about one third are
trained as Agricultural Engineers with the rest being Horticulturists or Plant Physiologists.
Therefore, there is an excellent mix of "basic" and "applied" researchers, and the committee has,
as a major objective, the integration of controlled environment research into classroom teaching,
graduate research and Extension educational programs. This healthy interaction of different
perspectives and interests assures results that benefit the agricultural community and society in
general.
4. Involvement in National Programs.
The use of controlled environments for research, education and production is increasing and the
variety and complexity of applications is expanding. Thus, an appropriate emphasis requires a
continuous updating of guidelines for the proper use of controlled environments, including
proper reporting of parameters such as light quantity and quality, temperature, humidity, and gas
composition. These guidelines are published periodically by members of the committee in
national scientific, engineering, and trade journals. The committee also maintains a collection of
analytical instruments that are used to calibrate instruments in member laboratories, which can
then be used to check instrumentation for other colleagues and researchers at the different
stations. This instrumentation rotates between laboratories on approximately a monthly basis
and is recalibrated at the Utah State University between each use.
Objectives
-
The overall goal of the committee is to develop or improve the theory and practice of controlledenvironment technology with particular reference to problems important to the North CentralRegion. As a non-funded committee, the objectives of NCR-101 are based on communicationand coordination. The committee will foster a range of cooperative efforts especially in thefollowing specific areas:
- Technical Advancement: Advance the technology of controlled or partially controlledenvironments for agricultural research and production. New ideas and advanced technology areshared and evaluated for potential use by those with research and production interests.
- Technology Transfer: Facilitate the transfer of technology among those involved with thedesign, management, manufacture and/or operation of controlled environment systems for bothresearch and production agriculture.
- Quality Control: Develop quality assurance procedures for environmental control andmonitoring in experimental and production facilities. These procedures provide a known anddocumented accuracy of environmental control in controlled environment facilities.
- Guidelines and Standard: Continue to develop and revise guidelines for measuring andreporting environmental parameters for experiments in controlled environments.
- Communication: Publish research, exchange information, prepare educational materials,and provide consultation and expertise for individuals engaged in controlled environmentresearch and production activities.
-
Procedures and Activities
Expected Outcomes and Impacts
- The committee expects that its activities will continue to promote optimal and economical use of existing growth chamber facilities, while at the same time stimulate development and implementation of new technologies. The annual committee meetings should continue to serve as an excellent forum for information exchange and technology transfer. In addition, the international make-up of the committee membership should facilitate open exchange on international developments and accelerate their evaluation and adaptation for US applications. Throughout the next cycle, the committee will continue to encourage participation from the next generation of growth chamber users, manufacturers, and scientists. In addition, the committee will continue to strongly support the standardization of approved research practices and instrumentation. A historical strength of the committee has been its fostering of partnerships between manufacturers, researchers, and growth chamber operators. The committee expects that these partnerships will continue fuel the development of new technologies and benefit all parties involved.
Projected Participation
View Appendix E: ParticipationEducational Plan
See prior section - Expected Outcomes and Impacts
Organization/Governance
Participating institutions are identified and approved by the committee several (two to three)
years in advance of the scheduled meetings. At each of the annual committee meetings, a new
committee is elected for the next year. Dr. Raymond Wheeler is the current chair and John Lea-
Cox has been elected as the incoming chair for FY 2002 and will chair the next committee
meeting in Norwich, UK in September 2001.
Literature Cited
HIGHLIGHTS OF COMMITTEE ACTIVITIES (1996 - 2000)
Cooperative Research & Publication:
- Guidelines Developed:
American Society of Agricultural Engineers Engineering Practices: ASAE EP411.2.
Guidelines for measuring and reporting environmental parameters for plant experiments in
growth chambers.
- Publications:
- Plant Growth Chamber Handbook. (1997) R.W. Langhans and T.W. Tibbitts (eds)
Univ. Iowa Press. NCR Research Publication No. 340 (240 pages).
- History of the ASHS Working Group on Growth Chambers and Controlled
Environments, 1969-1996. (1997) T.W. Tibbitts and D.T. Krizek. HortScience. 32:16-20.
- Plant Growth Chamber Handbook. (1997) R.W. Langhans and T.W. Tibbitts (eds)
- Distribution of calibrated environmental measurement instruments to member
laboratories on a rotating basis each year. Recent additions to the instrument package
include: 4 quantum (light) sensors; a UV visible spectrometer.
Annual Meetings:
- 1997 (March) Kennedy Space Center, Cocoa Beach, FL
- 1998 (March) University of Maryland, University Park, MD
- 1999 (March) Comell University, Ithaca, NY
- 2000 (March) Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.
Collaborative Workshops with American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS):
- Lexington, KY (1996) Implications of Elevated C02 on Horticultural Crop Production
- Salt Lake City, UT (1997) New Lighting Technologies.
- Charlotte, NC (1998) 21st Century Technologies for Monitoring and Controlling Plant
Growth in Intensive Culture
- Sacramento, CA (2001) Ethylene Production and Management in Controlled
Environment
Establishment and maintenance of a comprehensive electronic mailing list and a Web Site,
listing the committee's strategic goals and areas of activity, key publications, calibration
instrument package capabilities, and upcoming events.
Initiated plans for holding first joint international meeting with the UK Controlled
Environment Users' Group (scheduled for Sept. 2001, Norwich, (UK).