WVU Team Developing New Greenhouse Technology for Mexico

WVU professors Sven Verlinen, third from left; William Bryan, fourth from left; Dr. Ed Sneckenberger, seventh from left; and Victor Mucino, far right, are teaming up with professors and students from the University of Queretaro to develop new greenhouse technology geared toward helping small farmers in rural areas of Mexico.

An interdisciplinary team of faculty members from West Virginia University is working with researchers at the University of Querétaro in Mexico to develop new greenhouse technology geared toward helping small farmers in rural areas of that country. The project will also provide study-abroad opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at WVU.

Victor Mucino, professor in the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources’ Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, is the lead investigator on the project, which is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development under the Higher Education for Development Office. The Council for Science and Technology of the State of Querétaro is also a partner in the project.

John Sneckenberger, professor emeritus of mechanical and aerospace engineering, is also involved in the project, as are William Bryan, professor of plant and soil sciences, and Sven Verlinden, associate professor of plant and soil sciences, both from WVU’s Davis College of Agriculture. Forestry, and Consumer Sciences.

“Our ultimate goal is to increase the productivity and living standards of small-scale farmers in the Mexican states of Querétaro and Guanajuato through the development of greenhouse technology that is best suited to these rural, semiarid regions,” said Victor Mucino.

“Greenhouses are widely available,” he added, “but they are generic and expensive one-size-fits-all operations. Our challenge is to tailor these new greenhouses to the area and to the people who will run them, to make them affordable, easy to use and environmentally friendly.”

Innovations the researchers are working on including redesigning the structures and control systems for irrigation, lighting, heating, cooling, ventilation and other climate systems of the greenhouses so that they are energy efficient and easy to maintain for minimally trained staff.

“We are also incorporating the use of local materials into the design, to keep the technology affordable,” said Mucino.

“Our partnership will result in the creation of 20 new greenhouses in the region and about 200 new jobs, improving the competitiveness of farmers in the area. The project may also have very beneficial implications for other rural regions of the world,” he added.

The greenhouse project also will provide unique study-abroad opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students at WVU.

Each summer, Mucino leads the Industrial Outreach Program, a College of Engineering and Mineral Resources study-abroad program that takes undergraduate engineering students to Mexico for six week, where they live with Mexican families and work on engineering projects in Mexican businesses and industries alongside students from Querétaro.

Drs. Mucino and Verlinden traveled to Querétaro this October, to conduct the first "Workshop on Greenhouse Operation Best Practices" offered to participants in this partnership. Next summer, some undergraduate WVU students will be able to work on the greenhouse project while graduate students have already begun getting involved, said Mucino.