Dedicated service provider assisting live plant research with greenhouse and plant growth chamber rentals, as well as support for plant growth care, seed increase and more.
The Global Institute for Food Security (GIFS) at the University of Saskatchewan (USask) provides a comprehensive suite of technologies and services to scale—and accelerate—research and product development.
Located in Saskatoon, the Plant Growth Facilities (PGF) include 6,950 ft2 with 12 individual compartments that range in size from 162.5 ft2 to 487.5 ft2.
The facility houses an additional 1,200 ft2 of growth chamber space, including 15 walk-in and eight reach-in chambers. PGF is equipped with three tissue culture incubators.
The PGF team can support researchers with plant growth care and supplies, standard fertilization, Integrated Pest Management (IPM), as well as flood and drip irrigation systems.
The team operates an automated system to control growth conditions of light and temperature, ranging from 15°C to 30°C in the greenhouses and 5°C to 30°C in the growth chambers.
The facility has a seed room equipped with a thresher for seed cleaning and a seed counter, providing high seed quality to researchers.
- Greenhouse facility rental
- Growth chamber rental
- Plant growth observation and maintenance services
- Seed increase services
- Plant staking, labelling, and harvesting services
- Plant crossing and bagging
- Agriculture, animal science and food
- Fisheries and aquaculture
- Life sciences, pharmaceuticals and medical equipment
Specialized labs and equipment
| Equipment | Function |
|---|---|
| CONVIRON E15 Plant Growth Chambers (4) | Reach-in chambers with 15.6 ft2 of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 5 to 30°C. |
| CONVIRON PGR15 Plant Growth Chambers (2) | Reach-in chambers with 16.1 ft2 of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 4 to 45°C. |
| CONVIRON ATC26 Plant Growth Chamber (2) | Multi-tier reach-in chambers with 26.4 ft2 of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 5 to 30°C. |
| BioChambers TPR-89 Tall Plant Growth Rooms (4) | Walk-in chambers with 96 ft2 of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 15 to 30°C. |
| CONVIRON GR72 Plant Growth Chamber | Walk-in chamber with 97.28 ft2 of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 15 to 30°C. |
| CONVIRON PGV36 Plant Growth Chambers (4) | Walk-in chambers with 37.26 ft2 of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 15 to 30°C. |
| CONVIRON GR48 Plant Growth Room | Walk-in chamber with 93.44 ft2 of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 5 to 35°C. |
| CONVIRON GR64 Plant Growth Rooms (2) | Walk-in chambers with 111.97 ft2of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 5 to 35°C. |
| CONVIRON C1010 Plant Growth Chambers (3) | Walk-in chambers with 54 ft2 of controlled environment ranging in temperature from 15 to 30°C. |
| Data Technologies DATA Count S-25 PLUS seed counter | Process seeds as small as .5mm with an accuracy rating of 99.9%. |
| HALDUP LT-21 laboratory thresher | Suitable for threshing, de-bunching and cleaning cereals, legumes, vegetable seeds, clover, grass, rice, etc., without grain breakage, grain loss or mixing. |
| Mettler Toledo ME203E Precision Balance | Scale to measure mass to within a fraction of a milligram. |
| CONVIRON Adaptis Tissue Culture Cabinets (3) | Tissue culture environment with controlled temperatures and photoperiod. |
Private and public sector research partners
- Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC)
- Agriculture Victoria Research Partnership (Australia)
- National Research Council Canada
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Additional information
| Title | Hyperlink |
|---|---|
| Partners investing in new technology featuring AI to detect herbicide-resistant weeds. | https://gifs.ca/news/partners-investing-in-new-technology-featuring-ai-to-detect-herbicide-resistan… |
| Saskatchean farmers produce some of the world’s most sustainable crops: GIFS at USask study. | https://gifs.ca/news/gifs-at-usask-sustainability-study |
| Greenhouse and Plant Growth Chamber Spaces Available at the Global Institute for Food Security. | https://gifs.ca/news/details/greenhouse_spaces_available_for_rent_at_the_global_institute_for_food_… |
| Landmark study generates first genomic atlas for global wheat improvement. | https://news.usask.ca/articles/research/2020/landmark-study-generates-first-genomic-atlas-for-globa… |
| Farm Credit Canada announces $5 million investment into GIFS at USask to accelerate breeding and innovation for Canadian agriculture. | https://www.fcc-fac.ca/en/about-fcc/media-centre/news-releases/2024/investment-announcement-gifs-ac… |