Crop Shelter Provides Greater Research Portability

Researchers from Agriculture Victoria in Australia released a study describing a fully-automated, portable and energy-independent rainout shelter. This new design will allow researchers to more effectively field test crop varieties for their tolerances to water stress.

“Developing tools to enable precise testing under natural field conditions is key for breeding water stress-tolerant crops,” said Surya Kant, the lead author of the study. Field testing new crop varieties is vital. Experiments under more controlled conditions, such as in greenhouses, cannot always replicate the variable conditions found outdoors.

“There are always variations between field and greenhouse experiments,” Kant said. “That is especially the case for drought tolerance research.”

During field studies, researchers often have to account for various soil types. In contrast, greenhouses often use premade potting mixes or a single kind of soil. There are also differences in plant density, competition with weeds, insects, pests and diseases. All of these differences add up and “results from greenhouse experiments can potentially be un-reproducible in the field,” Kant said.

The rainout shelters designed by Kant and his colleagues are built using steel arch frames and polyethylene covering.

“This lightweight, robust design allows the structures to be portable,” Kant said. “It also means that the shelters maintain durability in all weather conditions, especially high winds.”

The rainout shelters are mounted on plastic road barriers. These barriers can be filled with water to act as foundations. They can be emptied for maximum portability when the shelters need to be moved.

“Most rainout shelters run on rails that are fixed to the ground and are therefore non-portable,” Kant said. “In contrast, our rainout shelters are portable. They can be relocated to another research station to allow for crop rotation and experimental site changes.”

Availability of electric power supply is another issue for researchers using rainout shelters. This is especially the case when experimental sites are located in remote areas. Kant and his colleagues incorporated a portable solar power system in their design to ensure that all power is generated onsite. Independent power generation can minimize potential failures due to issues with existing power infrastructure.

The new rainout shelters also have other customized features, such as rain sensors and surveillance cameras. The rain sensors automatically deploy the shelters in the event of rain, such that no rainfall event is missed accidentally. The surveillance cameras allow researchers to monitor their experiments remotely.

The unique features on these rainout shelters can expand their use into more remote areas. This will potentially allow researchers to test crops for drought-tolerance and growth in previously unusable land.

Read more about these rainout shelters in Crop Science.

Source: American Society of Agronomy, Crop Science Society of America, Soil Science Society of America