A Corvallis facility that collects and studies plant genes will receive a $13 million renovation. The project informs research on sustainable food systems.
The National Clonal Germplasm Repository houses tissue from 26,000 individual plants, including filberts, hops and fruit trees. Researchers at the facility identify genetic traits and distribute their findings to breeders.
Carolyn Scagel is the facility’s Acting Research Leader. She said these plants are sourced from all over the world, and they could be vital to food stability in the future.
“These are populations that may or may not ever have been in cultivation," Scagel said. "We're conserving not just the genetics of what we know, but the genetics of what we don't know.”
Scagel said the facility is aging. Renovations to the greenhouses there will redesign their climate control systems. Additionally, officials will construct two new buildings called screenhouses. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Seattle District, is overseeing the project, with plans to finish by next fall.
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