What is a growth chamber and how can it help your research?

When you think of important people throughout history, who comes to mind?

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Most people think of Albert Einstein, Mother Teresa, Charles Darwin, or Nelson Mandela. These were great people, but perhaps we're forgetting one who probably beats them all. Do you know Norman Borlaug?

You've probably never heard of him, and that's a real shame. Mr. Borlaug, using agricultural research, has saved a billion lives.

Dr. Borlaug bred a high-yielding, disease-resistant strain of Mexican wheat that helped avert a global food crisis in the 1950s and 1960s. His example led to the development of new agricultural research tools, including the plant growth chamber.

What is a plant growth chamber?

Growth chambers allow researchers to control climatic conditions while studying plants. Researchers, biologists, and other professionals can control humidity, temperature, light, and other factors.

Climate chambers help plant pathologists fight disease and geneticists develop more robust food crops. They provide essential data for seed germination , which the next Norman Borlaug will use to combat future food crises

How can plant growth chambers help research? Let's take a look at how they benefit agricultural research.

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Reproducibility

Reproducibility is one of the fundamental elements of experimental science.

The reproducibility of a study is the ability of other researchers to duplicate experiments. This allows others to confirm or disprove the original study.

Growth chambers do this by allowing researchers to set certain variables during the test.

Without growth chambers, there may be variations in other factors that are outside of an environmental simulation. Small factors, such as a few moments of sunlight per day or the composition of the air, can cause dramatic variations in results.

Environmental growth chambers ensure the same factors throughout the testing process.

Ideal tests for growing regions

One of the major concerns for agricultural scientists is the lack of arable land. Many countries around the world will face agricultural land shortages in the near future. This problem, combined with the lack of skilled agricultural labor, climate change, and a rapidly expanding world population, points to an impending food crisis.

In the UK, a shortage of farms by 2030. In Africa and other parts of the world, the problem isn't a lack of land, but a lack of arable land. Experts estimate that the world's population will grow to 11.2 billion people by the mid-2030s.

The population explosion will lead to a shortage of resources, especially food. According to some experts, we will have two solutions:

1. People might stop reproducing. This has yet to happen in human history, so it's safe to assume people won't stop having children.
2. We can make better use of the land we have.

Growth chambers, in this sense, allow researchers to develop high-grain products that use less land and produce more food. They also help determine which regions of the world produce the best of a given crop.

In the future, it's almost guaranteed that food production will take a global approach to meeting humanity's needs. Some nations will grow food solely for export, while others will import. We've seen the beginnings of this approach over the past 50 years, and this trend is expected to continue.

Growth chambers allow researchers in the United States to test the viability of crops in climates like those of Asia or Africa. This research is currently our best hope of averting a food crisis that could lead to millions, if not billions, of people facing starvation.

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Climate Chamber

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A growth chamber helps you make and test predictions

The hallmark of a good theory is the ability to make predictions about future events. In the case of agricultural science, this happens by predicting things like yield and survival.

In the past, a scientist would develop a new type of wheat that they believed could survive a shorter growing season. Then they would have to test their crop in a real-world environment. If their wheat didn't survive, it meant years of wasted work and more hungry mouths to feed.

Now, scientists can make a prediction and use growth chambers to simulate ideal temperatures and humidity for a shorter growing season. If the prediction turns out to be incorrect, they can begin working on a solution immediately.

This type of dynamic research leads to the creation of new crops. Researchers can adapt to changing weather patterns and other conditions. Water shortages could have devastated communities in the past. Now we can plan ahead thanks to growing chambers and their dynamic nature.  

The FDM Growth Chamber

We offer a wide range of products that meet the needs of biologists and researchers around the world. We've designed our products to give you the adaptability and reproducibility you need to advance your research. 

FDM growth chambers  implement the best technologies and can be modified upon customer request.

Just like we did for the laboratories of the University of Turin, building a custom-made chamber for the growth and propagation of tree crops, following the researchers' instructions.

Read the story here.

Whether you're in a standalone laboratory, a corporate environment, or an educational institution needing a growth chamber, our products are perfect for you. We can produce ICH test chambers with any light source, offering additional flexibility.

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Authoritative Sources

• CNR ISPA — Institute of Food Production Sciences.
• ASHS — American Society for Horticultural Science.
• FAO Crop Production.
• IPT — International Society of Plant Technology.

For applications requiring precise control of CO₂ concentration—from plant research to cell culture—FDM designs CO₂ controlled atmosphere test chambers built around your testing protocol.

Frequently Asked Questions about Plant Growth Chambers

What is the difference between a phytotron, a growth chamber, and a greenhouse?

A phytotron is a fully controlled scientific chamber (T, RH, CO₂, spectral light, photoperiod) used for basic research in plant physiology and climate change modeling. A growth chamber is a simplified version with T/RH/light control but less spectrum/CO₂ control—used for micropropagation, varietal screening, and cell culture. A greenhouse uses natural sunlight with partial climate control and is used for commercial or pre-commercial production.

What lighting should I use in a grow chamber?

Technological evolution: HPS (high-pressure sodium) — obsolete, efficient but limited red-yellow spectrum; Fluorescent T5/T8 — 2000s standard, full white spectrum but low efficiency; Full-spectrum LED — current standard, programmable spectrum (UV-A + blue 450 + green 520 + red 660 + far-red 730), dimmable, 2.5-3.0 μmol/J efficiency. For dedicated research: tunable LEDs with standard digital spectra (Sun, D65, RGB).

How much PAR is needed for different crops?

PAR range (Photosynthetically Active Radiation, 400-700 nm): microgreens and germination 100-200 μmol/m²/s; lettuce and leafy greens 200-300; tomatoes and peppers fruiting 500-800; flowering hemp 800-1200; Arabidopsis standard research 150-250. Above 1500 μmol, photosynthetic saturation and photochemical stress occur. To scale DLI (Daily Light Integral): target 15-30 mol/m²/day depending on the crop.

What are typical applications of a growth chamber?

Academic research: genetic models (standard Arabidopsis thaliana), stress response (drought, salt, cold), C3/C4/CAM photosynthesis. Industrial agrifood: hybrid screening, flowering forcing, varietal selection. Pharmaceuticals: production of plant molecules (CBD, paclitaxel, digoxin). Vertical farming: optimization of commercial growth recipes. Forensic forensics: palynological analysis, dating.