Edibles Production

National Institute of Agricultural Botany opens glasshouse complex and field station

Horticulture Week
05 February 2010

Be the first to comment The National Institute of Agricultural Botany (NIAB) has opened a £3.5m glasshouse agricultural farm and field station at its Park Farm site near Histon in Cambridge.

The development replaces older glasshouses due for demolition at the main NIAB site on Huntingdon Road. The NIAB Trust sold land for housing to raise money for the new 1,824sq m glasshouses.

The eight new glasshouses are called the MacLeod Complex after Professor John MacLeod, former NIAB director and now chairman of the NIAB Trust.

The NIAB works on plant science, variety evaluation and seed testing.Much of its ornamental work is for the Community Plant Variety Office. The NIAB is European test centre for all-year-round Chrysanthemum.

The new technology includes a biomass boiler, automatic irrigation and an on-site weather station that automatically regulates the glasshouse temperatures.

Opening the building, local MP and shadow farming minister James Paice said: "Such developments will be vital in meeting the challenge of increasing yields while reducing environmental impact."