| | ||||||
| | | | | | | |
click on photos for larger images
A small greenhouse (258 sq. ft), with three 5 ft x 8 ft benches and a stainless steel table with two large sinks, is located on the southeastern corner of South Agricultural Sciences Building. It is an ideal location for the collection, since it is isolated from all other plant-growing areas, is adjacent to all other INVAM facilities, and is dedicated solely to culture development and maintenance. It affords excellent control of watering regime, quality control, and the close monitoring of any introduced biotic and abiotic contaminants. Landscapers incorrectly planted grasses and a pine tree (top photo) and these were all removed and the area covered with gravel to reduce influx of insect pests. For overflow or for larger-scale production of a given fungal isolate, we have a bay in our division greenhouses assigned to us. These greenhouses (pictured at right) are conveniently located across the street from our building. It is in this area that we also store our bags of sand and Turface and cans of sifted soil brought in from the field High-pressure sodium vapor lights are timed to run for 14 hours each day all year long, to insure a minimum light intensity and photoperiod regardless of outdoor conditions (Morgantown suffers from a high frequency of cloudy days). |
||
 |
||
 |
|
|
| Cultures are examined daily (i) at the time of manual watering and (ii) when selected cultures are chosen to examine sporulation and/or colonization productivity. Cleanliness is all important, and the small size of the greenhouse and the sealed concrete floors allows us to wash all benches and floors at bimonthly intervals with a bleach solution without too much effort. Although we are capable of setting up an automated system, we are so concerned about mechanical failures that we still water manually. The benefit of this approach is rapid detection of any changes to plant health, insect introductions, or any other problem that might arise. | ||
