Genetic experiments at Monsanto's research lab in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The facility includes automated greenhouses that move plants daily via conveyor belt through a laboratory that analyzes each plant for growth and gives them individually measured amounts of water and nutrients. The analysis includes a photo booth where each plant is photographed from two different lateral angles and from above in both daylight and ultraviolet wavelengths. Different strains of corn and soybean plants are tested for traits that will allow them to maximize productivity with minimal amounts of water and nutrients, among other factors. The plants are then returned to a new location in the greenhouse to avoid any possible differences in sunlight, temperature, or shading by adjacent plants and make the results more repeatable. The most successful plant strains will then get further testing and refinement to develop commercial seed products that increase crop yields in real-world growing conditions.
Here corn plants are being returned to the greenhouse after being photographed, watered, and fertilized.
