The Plant Accelerator

The Plant Accelerator (formerly the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility) will be a world-leading plant growth and analysis facility based at the Waite Campus of the University of Adelaide. It will accelerate pure and applied plant science research Australia-wide and internationally.

The high technology glasshouse, with over 1km of conveyor systems and state-of-the art imaging, robotic and computing equipment, will allow continuous measurements of the physical attributes (phenotype) of plants automatically and non-destructively.

The facility will accommodate 160,000 plants a year, in programs such as those aimed at increasing drought and salinity tolerance in wheat and barley. Research on other economically important crops such as grapevines will also be accommodated.

The Plant Accelerator will serve as the national headquarters of the Australian Plant Phenomics Facility. The APPF will have two nodes, one in Adelaide and the other in Canberra. Funding has been provided by the Commonwealth, as part of the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS), the South Australian State Government and the University of Adelaide.