Food Crop at The Land Greenhouses

Here's another paper that I found that debunk my impression that The Land is only for show and no real research:

English Title: Food crop culture in The Land greenhouses at Epcot�.
Personal Authors: Fan, Y. Q., Bell, E., Etzel, R., Hammer, B., Frey, L., Harmon, T., Blank, T., Meeusen, C., Burn, B., Schon, M., Huang, Y., Petitt, F.
Author Affiliation: Epcot Science, Walt Disney World Co., P. O. Box 10000, 2013 N Avenue of the States, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830, USA.
Document Title: Acta Horticulturae, 2004 (No. 659(1)) 161-169

Abstract:

The Land, a 24-ha pavilion, is a demonstration, production, research and entertainment facility that represents agriculture and the environment at Epcot in the Walt Disney World Resort, Florida, USA. Every year, millions of guests experience the greenhouse-portion of this attraction through a facilitated boat ride called "Living with The Land" and/or a guided walking tour called "Behind the Seeds." The protected culture is ~0.4 ha of intensive growing area. Crops grown at The Land include those commonly grown hydroponically, like cucumber, tomato, lettuce, and pepper; those of world importance, like rice, maize, sweet potato, and beans; exotic crops, like jackfruit, fluted pumpkin (Telfairia occidentalis), wax gourd (Benincasa hispida), and snake gourd (Trichosanthes cucumerina); and other unique plants such as 'Cinderella' and 'Atlantic Giant' pumpkins (Cucurbita spp.), cocoa, extra long handled dipper gourd (Lagenaria spp.), and Mickey Mouse-shaped fruits. A wide variety of hydroponic techniques, irrigation methods, and biological control-based integrated pest management (IPM) strategies are used in the greenhouse operation.

I am definitely very convinced that they do real science there at Disney World. Now, I haven't seen any scientific papers coming out of anyone at Disneyland, CA! :)

Zz.