The University of Glasgow, College of MVLS, Plant Science Group have partnered with Weiss Technik UK and Valoya, the Finnish LED grow lights manufacturer, to create a state of the art research environment.
Three Weiss Technik FITOTRON SGR 213 environmentally controlled plant growth rooms with research grade LED grow lights were installed to perform experiments on the plant genetic model Arabidopsis thaliana.
The growth rooms are fitted with Valoya’s C-series dimmable LED lighting units, providing light intensity output and a natural light spectrum.
The choice of their NS12 light spectrum was due to it being best suited for a wide variety of research requirements. The NS12 spectrum is a true wide (also known as full or continuous) spectrum, made up of custom made LED chips that produce all the colour components of the spectrum unlike most red-blue LED luminaires that dominate the market.
Researchers have full control of temperature, humidity, lighting and other factors in the growth rooms. University of Glasgow researchers have produced reliable data in trials involving Arabidopsis thaliana and its response to changing environmental conditions such as daily photoperiod, light intensity, temperature variations, etc.
These new facilities have allowed the researchers to continue to advance plant science research within the Institute of Molecular, Cell and Systems Biology at Glasgow with the additional benefits of a reduction in overall energy costs and carbon footprint within this improved facility.
