Macfarlane Research Greenhouses Open House to be held April 18

The New Hampshire Agricultural Experiment Station (NHAES) is hosting its annual Macfarlane Research Greenhouses Open House on Saturday, April 18, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The annual event — which is free and open to the public — highlights the research and work of NHAES scientists and UNH Extension education specialists.

Guests can explore the various compartments of the Macfarlane Research Greenhouses and learn about some of the research taking place in each, explore and discover how a research greenhouse operates, and meet the researchers working at the facility and the staff who operate it. The Open House will feature presentations on a variety of horticulture topics, and Open House guests can also enjoy lunch, courtesy of the Portsmouth-based food pantry Gather.

The Macfarlane Research Greenhouses offer a controlled environment for a diversity of agricultural and floricultural research projects that includes ornamental and food crop breeding, sustainable ornamental plant nutrition and development, aquaculture, biological pest control, bioremediation and plant genetic diversity. The greenhouse environments are monitored and precisely regulated through a computer-based control system that creates a sustainable growing environment through the conservation of heat, electricity, water and fertilizer, and increased plant resistance to insect pests and diseases.

© University of New Hampshire

“We’re excited to showcase the research and teaching programs that take place at the Macfarlane Research Greenhouses,” says Matt Biondi, research greenhouse manager. “It’s an event for science-enthusiasts of all ages, so definitely bring your questions about gardening, greenhouse growing, and managing plant pests, and discover how UNH researchers are working to ensure sustainable, science-based management in the future.”

Examples of current and ongoing research taking place at the Macfarlane Greenhouses — research that Open House visitors will have the chance to learn more about — include growing traditional warm-weather plants and using genetics to breed local varieties of strawberries, kiwiberries, Tartary buckwheat and others. The 22,000-square-foot greenhouses were named in honor of UNH’s first greenhouse director, James Macfarlane. Since the establishment of these greenhouses, they’ve played a critical role in the land-grant mission of the university.

“Our research greenhouses provide a wide variety of research to sprout — from developing new vegetable and fruit plants to biotechnology that will help reduce food waste, new approaches for growing food year-round in cool climates, improving maple tree health, making our forests and lands more sustainable, and so much more,” described Anton Bekkerman, director of the NH Agricultural Experiment Station. “The Open House is a day when our community can take a peek at the future of New Hampshire agriculture.”

Source: University of New Hampshire