Agricultural machinery

Tender description

Summary of the requirement now includes: design and build 3 rain-out shelters (polytunnels) run on rails which are attached to some sort of base which is embedded in the soil. The design, as a semi-permanent structure in that it should work for many years, but if the soil became contaminated then it should be able to be moved to another part of the farm. Full specification is available in the ITT. The University of Nottingham is long established as a leader in plant and crop science research. As part of the future food beacon of excellence, the University is investing in its research infrastructure and wishes to commission a rainout shelter. The purpose of the rainout shelter is to be able to manipulate growing conditions, in the field, to simulate drought at specific stages of crop development. For example, to exclude any rainfall during the grain filling period of wheat. To enable this, we wish to commission shelters that respond to rain and only move into position when needed. This means that crops grow in natural, field conditions, for the majority of their growth and are only covered when it is actually raining. The shelters must, therefore, be self-propelled and able to move into position in response to rain. It is important that they are sufficiently portable to be able to be moved between fields to avoid problems with crop rotation.