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Purdue gets $500K donation for plant research building

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – A corn seed company has donated $500,000 to Purdue University for use in a new facility that will be used to create new crop varieties suited to thrive in a wide range of environments.

AgReliant Genetics donated the money to be used toward building an automated phenotyping facility. The 25,000-square-foot facility, under construction at the Purdue Agronomy Center for Research and Education, will use automated systems to collect billions of field measurements that will quantify differences in plant characteristics such as canopy area, leaf area, and height.

Part of AgReliant’s gift will fund a collaborative space where agronomists, engineers, statisticians, computer scientists and other specialists can meet to discuss their work. AgReliant will have naming rights for the space.

The building is scheduled to open next spring.