State Budget Committee approves Purdue phenotyping facility

INDIANAPOLIS – State Rep. Sheila Klinker (D-Lafayette) said the State Budget Committee approved a $6.25-million project to build a controlled environment phenotyping facility on the West Lafayette campus.

During a meeting today in Kokomo, committee members voted for the controlled environment plant imaging facility that will allow phenotypic analysis of field traits. Klinker, who serves on the State Budget Committee, said the project will keep Purdue in the forefront of agricultural research.

“Phenotyping has to do with measuring physical characteristics of plants,” explained Klinker. “That would include measuring the height and leaf area of a plant. This phenotyping process enables researchers to identify the most beneficial traits for new crop varieties. This facility, along with other investments Purdue has made in agricultural research and education, will provide the university with the cutting-edge technology necessary to maintain its reputation as a world leader in agricultural research and development.”

The facility will be built on the current site of the Life Science Range #2 Greenhouse along South Russell Street, southwest of the Life Science Plant & Soils Laboratory.

The new facility will contain two large growth chambers that link to a series of automated imaging stations. Researchers will be able to view plants from any campus greenhouse or other site. The system will also be able to provide precise control of experimental variables for uniform growth conditions, which is not easily done in the field.

Construction of the 7,300 square-foot building will begin in February of next year and be completed in January of 2018.

Purdue has committed to an investment of more than $20 million in the College of Agriculture to provide state-of-the-art facilities for the university’s plant sciences research and education efforts.