The facilities at the Plant Biotechnology Centre that are under the management of the Plant Protection Directorate include laboratories, a modern glasshouse, a shade house, a plastic house, screen houses, and underground water reservoirs.
Laboratories
The Plant Protection Directorate has 4 different labs including (i) plant health diagnostic laboratories, (ii) plant tissue culture laboratory, (iii) the seed testing laboratory, and the (iv) soil and water laboratory. The plant health diagnostic laboratories cover different diagnostic areas including bacteriology, virology, nematology, entomology and mycology.
Glasshouse
This modern computer-controlled glasshouse was built through financial aid from the IV Italian financial protocol. It has a total area of 910 m2. Vents are opened and closed according to the required temperature and climatic conditions. The computer also regulates the functioning of the chiller and the boiler to keep the desired temperatures. It has shading facilities both on the inside and on the outside to control the light intensity. The outside shading is always fixed and its use is to protect the glasshouse from hail as well as shading. The inside shading can be opened or closed, depending on the light intensity.
Shade House
Towards the centre of the premises there is a shade house having a total area of 600 m2 which is utilised for the final stage of acclimatisation. The shade house is a sort of greenhouse which is covered with shading material to protect the plants from the bright sunshine and strong winds. After the plants are acclimatised in the glasshouse, they are taken to this shade house for hardening off prior to being transferred to the open environment.
Plastic and Screen Houses
The plastic house with a total area of 120 m2 is used for the propagation of mother plants and for the collection of seeds of herbaceous indicator plants. The screen houses having a total area of 429m2 are used for the conservation of positive controls, quarantine and healthy plants. These are made of greenhouse frames covered by a double layer of net to prevent any invasion from insects.
Underground Water Reservoirs
The underground water reservoirs are the main resources from where water is collected and used for irrigation purposes. These have a capacity of around 20 million cubic litres. The water collected in these reservoirs is from rainwater which in the past used to flow from Rabat, a hilltop village to the North West of the Island.