Indoor farming technology company LettUs Grow says that it can reduce the amount of time taken to grow productive strawberry plants to just five-weeks using aeroponic production techniques.
According to the Bristol-based company, approximately 85% of UK-grown strawberries are grown from imported plants and the overall quality and consistency of propagated plant material is not always high – and plant health or stability results in a large amount of plant waste and money lost. It believes that propagating plants in the UK could not only reduce food miles, but produce better quality plants for growers, more sustainably.
It usually takes four to six weeks for tissue culture to produce tips, so the company conducted trials which aimed to reduce this period. It also wanted to reduce plant losses, which it says can be as high as 20-30% when using traditional propagation methods.
Using aeroponics, LettUs grow says plant loss was reduced to 5% and the growing period was reduced to 2 weeks. During the second stage, a tip will traditionally take between five to six months to become an established strawberry plant. Using aeroponics, this growing period was reduced to just five weeks. The strawberry plants in the trial system also remained free from rust and white fly and the nutritional value of the plant was described as “high.”
“Many strawberry plant seedlings are unfortunately lost before they reach the planting out stage, this will help fruit growers reduce waste in the very early stages of plant growth,” said Lily Manzoni, Head of R&D at LettUs Grow.
Andrew Worrall, Head Grower at LettUs Grow, added, “”We would recommend using aeroponic irrigation in vertical farming for the initial stages of growth, from germination to seedling. At this point in the life cycle, you will be able to develop tissue culture, plant tips, and healthy root structures much faster as they are exposed to a higher volume of oxygen. Once the crops mature to the plant stage, they can either remain in the vertical farm set-up for pollination or be planted out into greenhouse, polytunnel, or outdoor environments.”