Congratulations on 40 years!

Martonvásár Phytotron
During the 2012 EUCARPIA conference in Hungary, delegates toured the Martonvásár Phytotron. The world class phytotron was constructed in 1972 - enabling researchers to carry out research in uniformed controlled environments which had not previously been possible.

Conviron would like to congratulate the Martonvásár phytotron, in this, its 40th year of operation.

In 1970 a contract was signed with Conviron to manufacture and deliver 44 analog controlled environment units to the facility at Martonvásár, Hungary. Construction began in the spring of 1971 and the official opening ceremony was held on November 3, 1972.

In 1989-90, the units were converted to feature state of the art digital controls system and then further upgraded with the addition of 3 GB-48 growth beds.

The Martonvásár facility boasts a total of 50 plant growth and testing units – which can simulate temperatures ranging from -25° C to +45 °C, relative humidity upwards of 80%, C02, light intensity (max 40,000 lux) and UV-B radiation.

The phytotron helps address basic research problems in plant physiology and genetics as well as helps researchers create new varieties using the latest breeding techniques. In connection to the Martonvásár facility, in May of 2012 the Centre for Agricultural Research, Hungarian Academy of Sciences played host to over 350 leading plant scientists from around the world at the 9th European Association for Research on Plant Breeding (EUCARPIA) General Congress in Budapest. Conviron was proud to be a sponsor of this event which featured a tour of the Martonvásár phytotron.

Ahead of the tour, Dr. Zoltan Bedo, Acting Director General of the growth chamber facilities in the Martonvásár phytotron, delivered a presentation – outlining the significance of this long standing facility and the important research which had been carried out since it's beginning many decades ago. Dr. Bedo explained that in 1972 they built their world class phytotron which enabled researchers to conduct experiments in uniformed controlled environments - which had not previously been possible. It was at this time that Conviron installed 48 plant growth chambers which were designed to the facilities specific control and uniformity requirements, many of the chambers were “one-off” designs and custom rooms using the latest technologies available at the time.

Following this presentation the institute kindly allowed Conviron’s UK representative, Matthew Gilroy to address the delegates and congratulate the facility on their 40th anniversary. “We would like to thank EUCARPIA for allowing us to sponsor this year’s meeting and would very much like to thank the Centre for Agricultural research at Martonvásár for their hospitality and 40-year partnership with Conviron”.

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