Growth chambers are a cornerstone of laboratory-based plant science, allowing for the tightly controlled conditions necessary for many experimental designs. However, these conditions can sometimes be a little less than controlled, creating headaches ranging from reproducibility issues to the loss of entire experiments. Remote monitoring of conditions helps, but the equipment can be expensive, or lack features or sensors important for a particular experiment. In research presented in a recent issue of Applications in Plant Sciences, Makenzie Mabry, MS, and colleagues at the University of Missouri and University of Arizona developed a flexible and inexpensive monitoring system for plant growth facilities, called Growth Monitor pi, or GMpi. The system uses open source software and a single-board Raspberry Pi computer, and can be connected to a wide variety of different sensors to meet researchers’ specific needs.
Click here for original story, Introducing GMpi: Affordable and adaptable remote monitoring for plant growth experiments
Source: Phys.org