Greenhouses & Growth Chambers

Organizations use these facilities to:

• Evaluate crop varieties and genetics
• Assess plant responses to environmental conditions
• Test fertilizers, soil amendments, and crop inputs
• Evaluate biological and chemical crop protection products
• Conduct plant pathology and crop physiology studies
• Support reclamation and vegetation research
• Generate data before investing in larger field trials

These facilities are often used as an intermediate validation step between laboratory research and field-scale testing.

Flexible Research Environments for Plant and Crop Evaluation

The Vegreville facility includes 18 greenhouse compartments providing approximately 640 m^² of growing space. Each compartment offers environmental controls that allow researchers to tailor conditions to meet specific project requirements.

Capabilities include:

• Supplemental lighting
• Temperature control
• Optional irrigation and fertigation systems
• Controlled crop production environments
• Year-round research capability

The greenhouse facilities support work involving agricultural crops, specialty crops, native plants, greenhouse crops, and reclamation-related vegetation studies. Researchers can evaluate plant performance while maintaining a high degree of control over environmental variables.

Precision Control for Early-Stage Research

The facility includes approximately 40 controlled-environment growth chambers providing an additional 90 m² of growing space. These chambers allow precise control of:

• Temperature
• Humidity
• Photoperiod (day length)
• Light intensity
• Environmental stress conditions

Growth chambers are often used for early-stage screening, plant physiology studies, germination testing, disease research, and controlled environmental experiments where repeatability is essential.

Researchers can efficiently move promising technologies and treatments from growth chamber studies to greenhouse trials before proceeding to field validation.

Evaluating Performance Under Controlled Conditions

Our research teams can design and implement experiments that evaluate the effectiveness of biological and chemical products under a variety of environmental conditions.

Capabilities include:

• Seed treatment evaluations
• Foliar product testing
• Soil amendment studies
• Fertilizer assessments
• Plant growth evaluations
• Disease and pest management research
• Abiotic stress studies
• Biotic stress studies

Controlled conditions allow researchers to better understand product performance and plant responses before exposing technologies to the variability of field environments.

Supporting Successful Land Reclamation

The facility also supports vegetation and reclamation research projects across the agricultural, energy, and industrial sectors.

Researchers can evaluate:

• Plant species suitability
• Vegetation establishment
• Soil amendment effectiveness
• Plant tolerance to constituents of concern
• Reclamation strategies
• Long-term vegetation success

These capabilities help organizations identify approaches that improve the success of reclamation and environmental restoration projects.

Propagation & Early Plant Development

The facility includes dedicated tissue culture and germination cabinets, along with a specialized tissue culture growth room.

Environmental conditions such as temperature, humidity, light, and photoperiod can be precisely controlled to support:

• Plant propagation
• Tissue culture development
• Germination studies
• Early-stage plant evaluation
• Production of disease-free and genetically uniform plant material

These capabilities support a wide range of plant research and propagation activities.

Understanding Root Development & Plant Health

A dedicated root washing and analysis area supports studies focused on root systems, plant health, and soil interactions.

Capabilities include:

• Root washing and preparation
• Root biomass measurement
• Root sample collection
• Pathogen containment
• Root morphology analysis using imaging technologies

The facility is specifically designed to contain soil-borne plant pathogens and prevent environmental release during research activities.

Our Greenhouse and Growth Chamber Facilities regularly support:

• Crop variety development
• Plant breeding programs
• Fertilizer and soil amendment studies
• Biological and chemical crop protection evaluations
• Plant pathology research
• Controlled-environment agriculture studies
• Reclamation and vegetation research
• Environmental stress testing
• Agronomic product development

One of the greatest challenges in agricultural innovation is determining whether a technology, product, or crop variety will perform consistently before investing in field-scale trials.

Our controlled-environment facilities allow organizations to generate reliable data, evaluate performance under known conditions, and reduce development risk. When combined with InnoTech Alberta’s field research capabilities, clients can progress from highly controlled chamber studies through greenhouse validation and ultimately to full field evaluation, all within a single integrated research platform.