ISLAMABAD, Mar 05 (APP):A cutting-edge Intelligent and Internet of Things (IoT) Smart Glasshouse recently established at the National Institute for Genomics and Advanced Biotechnology (NIGAB) has started enabling scientists to test crops under simulated heat, drought, and cold conditions, marking a new step in developing climate-resilient crop varieties in Pakistan.
“The facility marks a major leap forward for agricultural research,” Dr Muhammad Ramzan Khan, Principal Scientific Officer at NIGAB, a specialized department of the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC), a Wealth Pakistan official said.
With climate change posing growing risks to food production, the intelligent glasshouse is positioning Pakistan to develop stronger crops, conserve resources, and support a more resilient agricultural system, he said. The facility was established under the Sino-Pak Agricultural Breeding Innovations for Rapid Yield Enhancement initiative.
Unlike traditional greenhouses, the intelligent glasshouse can design the environment according to the specific needs of crops, allowing scientists to grow plants faster and more efficiently. The facility covers 2,640 square feet and uses IoT technologies such as artificial intelligence, sensors, programmable logic controllers, and data analytics to control climate, humidity, carbon dioxide, light, and water in real time, said official documents.
The IoT-based glasshouse integrates genomics, digital agriculture, and sustainable food production, it said adding, “It represents a paradigm shift from conventional breeding to data-driven, climate-smart, and precision agriculture”.
The smart glasshouse contains eight independently programmable chambers that allow scientists to simulate extreme environmental conditions. “This allows researchers to test how crops respond to climate stress and identify stronger, more resilient varieties,” it added.
The facility is equipped with smart full-spectrum grow lights and auxiliary flood lights to support plant growth. It also includes an automated shading system. “Automated internal shading for each individual chamber allows us to maintain ideal growing conditions without manual intervention,” it further said.
Major crops including wheat, rice, cotton, canola, tomato, potato, and strawberry are already being grown and studied at the facility. Through genome-assisted speed breeding, scientists can significantly shorten crop development timelines by producing multiple crop generations within a year.
The glasshouse aims to reduce the time required to develop new crop varieties from around 10 years to five years. According to Dr Ramzan, researchers can now achieve four to eight generations of crops annually, accelerating breeding cycles and helping scientists release improved varieties more quickly.
Research activities have already produced encouraging results. Scientists have screened 244 rice lines for heat tolerance and conducted speed breeding on 400 wheat lines. Gene-edited sugarcane, tomato, and potato plants have also been successfully acclimatized under controlled conditions.
In addition to crop breeding research, the facility also includes vertical and horizontal aquaponics systems. These soil-less farming systems allow fish waste to naturally fertilize plants while water is recycled within the system.
Using this aquaponics system, researchers successfully cultivated 800 strawberry plants and 700 celery plants, while 16 tomato plants were grown to evaluate nutrient-use efficiency.
Beyond research, the smart glasshouse is also serving as a training hub for scientists, breeders, students, and technicians, helping strengthen national expertise in advanced agricultural biotechnology.
Replicating similar smart glasshouse models across provinces could further strengthen food security and support export-oriented agriculture.