A project seeking to improve the nutrient profile in tomatoes has been awarded grant funding of more than £500,000 by Growing Kent & Medway.
Led by Thanet Earth, the work aims to raise levels of ascorbic acid and iron. Studies have shown that even modest increases in content of these nutrients can make tomato crops more resilient to heat stress. Iron is also important to human health but often lacking in people’s diets.
The project will make use of the new cutting-edge research facility, the GreenTech Hub for Advanced Horticulture, at NIAB’s East Malling site. The research started in May and will run for up to 36 months.
Growing Kent & Medway was set up in 2020 to boost food production and economic growth in the south-east and is itself funded by UK Research and Innovation’s ‘Strength In places’ fund. Proposed projects had to be a collaboration between a business and a Kent-based research organisation and were assessed on evidence they would support their business’s transition to net-zero while delivering improved productivity and sustainability in food and drink production. A second wave of funding will be made available later this year.
