PLANTS AND CLIMATE

Taupo Times, Volume I, Issue 19, 21 May 1952, Page 3

PLANTS AND CLIMATE

Labaratory Research Selecting the right plant to grow in the right climate may eventually be .common knowledge to farmers ir the^ Free World. Scientists in the United States are growing plants znder controlled weather to learn thc conditions under which specific plants will produce good crops. Once they learn to match plants to climate, new areas for growing food may be opened around the world, reports Westways, a magazine published ir the United States. To carry out these experiments, scientists at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California have built a weather factory in whicr all types of weather is created. Its 30 laboratories make it one of tho largest and most complex plant research centres ever constructed. It is headed by Dr. Robert A. Millikan, a cosmic ray researcher and formei president of the Institute. Dr Millikan calls his laboratory the "phytotron." He e^pects the laboratory to play on the same role in plant physiology and applied sciences as does the cyclofron in pure and applied sciences. By flicking a switch, scientists can duplicate arctic or tropical weather, hot nights or cold days. Rain is made to cascade from the roofs by pressing a button. Dry or wet wind storms can be blown across growing plants in a wind tunnel having artificial lighting. The greenhouses are scientifically sterilised. Rooms are air-conditioned, and an ionizer and electric precipitator remove physical particles from the air and sterilise it. Plant researchers wear sterile clothing while performing their duties. All materials brought into the laboratory are decontaminated.