Pure white rooms, very expensive equipment, multiple disinfection machines: it looks more like a laboratory here than a greenhouse. Yet in a while you will find tomato bushes up to the ceiling, says professor Wim Vriezen as he walks past the currently empty racks. It must happen in this new greenhouse – on the grounds of the Brightlands Campus Greenport Venlo: here scientists from Maastricht University will soon unravel the secrets of plant DNA. But why?
“Simply put, we want to know which genes are responsible for which properties in a plant. Think about how much water they need or what they taste like,” explains the crop biology expert. Vriezen knows everything about breeding or crossing plants to make better tomatoes, for example. With this brand new greenhouse, he and his colleagues are delving even deeper for that breeding: “We are now looking for those properties at the molecular level. That is complicated, so we need a lot of new knowledge for that.”
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Wim Vriezen shows the currently empty greenhouses. — © De Limburger
Heat wave
That is why Vriezen has the task of creating the new Brightlands Future Farming Institute to give shape. Now the lecture halls and study areas in this campus building are still empty, some furniture is covered in plastic. But the research club must attract all kinds of bright minds to Limburg to study those molecules. “This research is not completely new, but we do want to apply it in practice. That makes the institute unique,” he explains.
Speaking of that practice, here in Venlo there is a bit more at stake than the taste of a pepper. “For example, we want to create plants that can withstand heat better. Now that it’s getting warmer, you need crops that can survive longer heat waves. We look for the genes that ensure this, for example, in the wild varieties of our crops.”
What is the difference with genetic modification?
Classical plant breeding is the artificial selection of plants with good properties, such as a nice taste or a juicy fruit. You then continue to grow those plants for the best vegetables or fruit. Think of it as breeding plants. However, there are also technologies with which you can change the DNA of a plant. Then you are less dependent on natural processes. We call these genetically modified organisms, or GMO. It is currently prohibited to sell these GMO products in the EU. That is why Maastricht University focuses on classical breeding. Nevertheless, there is room for GMOs in the new Venlo greenhouse. These crops are kept in hermetically sealed areas, with special security systems to prevent unintentional crossing and spread. The plants can also only be used for research and not for food production.
Better crops will soon be grown here. — © De Limburger
Bell pepper
It takes an average of ten years before those fruits and vegetables end up on our plates. And then we don’t taste much of that. Yet those crops make a difference. “In this way we contribute to the protein revolution. We want to get more protein from plant-based products and less from animal products.” As an example, Vriezen mentions that you can make peas with more and better proteins. In theory, you don’t have to import soy from the Amazon for cow feed or eat less meat.
The scientists’ wish list is even longer. They hope for crops that pollute less, vegetables that are healthier, plants that absorb more CO₂ or fruit that uses less water. The greenhouse itself is also an experiment. With heat pumps, extra insulation and complex irrigation systems, they want to show that you can grow food with little water and little energy.
The experimental greenhouse in Venlo. — © De Limburger
Need
Cyriel Wentink, director of Campus Development in Venlo, makes no bones about it. “This research arose out of necessity. Partly because our climate is changing, we must keep good and healthy food available for everyone.”
The greenhouse, the institute, the countless open vacancies: it is all part of the university’s green growth spurt. The research institute also started in Venlo last year Systems Earth Science. They investigate the connection between biodiversity, climate change, health and our food. And that fits well with what Vriezen does here. So it is logical, he thinks, that all that knowledge about those subjects comes together in Limburg.
