St. Paul Campus Research Facilities

Ag Services

Campus Field Plots

Newly prepped St Paul field plots.

The Twin Cities Campus in St. Paul features outdoor land set aside for plant research, teaching and outreach activities. This land is divided into research plots and project areas and features a mix of both conventional and organic production systems. Typical crops grown in the plots include traditional MN crops like corn, soybean, wheat, barley, and alfalfa, as well as, some more specialty crops including tomatoes, peppers, and industrial hemp. 

Plant Growth Facilities

Plant Growth Facilities Greenhouses and Classrooms

Flowers growing inside a greenhouse in the Plant Growth Facilities.

The St. Paul campus plant growth facilities support a wide range of teaching and research projects, across multiple departments and colleges. The facilities include state-of-the-art greenhouses as well as specially designed classrooms that allow for plant research and education to take place year round. Projects supported by the facilities vary from aquaponics, plant breeding, disease resistance, insect control, organic production and much more.

Environmentally Controlled Growth Chambers

Manager Doug Brinkman standing in doorway of growth chamber.

The MAES manages environmentally controlled growth chambers in locations across the St. Paul campus. The chambers are programmable and can sustain consistent environmental control for temperature, daylength, lighting intensity, etc. The capabilities of the chambers allow researchers to investigate plant growth and development of several plant species of interest from Arabidopsis to soybean.

Insect Quarantine Facility (BSL-2)

Wasp.

The BSL-2 is a federally permitted facility that was constructed in 2003 to provide research scientists with the necessary containment for research on economically and ecologically important exotic insects and weeds. The goal of this BSL-2 facility is to provide a secure environment for research consisting of exotic insects for biological control of noxious weeds and insect pests in Minnesota.

  • For more information on how to start a project in the BSL-2, contact a Quarantine Officer at 651-231-8846.

Plant Pathology Quarantine Facility (BSL-3)

BSL_3 Greenhouse.

The BSL-3 facility is a federally permitted facility that was constructed in 2008 to provide research scientists with the necessary high containment for research on economically and ecologically important exotic plant pathogens. The goal of this BSL-3 facility is to provide a secure environment for research on plant pathogens of agronomic and horticultural crops, nursery and forest industries without risk of introducing the pathogens into Minnesota. The BSL-3 is unique in that only a handful of these types of facilities exist in the United States.

  • For more information on how to start a project in the BSL-3, contact a Quarantine Officer at 651-231-8846.

Soil Testing and Research Analytical Laboratory

The Soil Testing & Research Analytical Laboratory (STRAL) is an analytical service laboratory providing Universities, State and Federal agencies, private companies, and the general public with quality analyses. With over 100 tests available, our goals are to provide a high level of analytical precision, quality, and accuracy, with timely results, to every client, for every sample tested.