Tomato plants, thirty feet from root to bud, have been grown, a feat considered impossible in the past. The nearer the buds came to the roof, the greater was the heat, and their growth slowed accordingly.
呂理福指出，今年在築波博覽會展出的一棵水耕蕃茄，從根部到樹頂，足足長了卅呎有餘，「這在以前根本是不可能的」，呂校長說：「因為蕃茄藤蔓伸向屋頂，實際上也就更接近陽光，若是散熱不當，照理說是會被燒焦的。」