Optimising the propagation environment in TCEA systems to maximise strawberry yield potential in all production systems

在整个人类历史上，确保粮食和营养安全一直是一项艰巨的任务，但在全球人口迅速增长（预计到2050年将达到97亿）、当前COVID-19大流行和乌克兰战争带来的挑战，以及更局部的英国退欧遗留影响的背景下，这一点或许从未像现在这样重要。传统的生产方法将无法应对这些挑战，因此必须开发新的创新和技术，以提供全球粮食安全——这是联合国可持续发展目标（SDG2）之一。需要用更少的投入和更小的面积，以更可持续和更具成本效益的方式种植新鲜、有营养、保质期有保证的食品，从而绕过气候、土地使用压力和通货膨胀成本等限制因素。全面环境控制农业（TCEA）是一种很有前途的种植植物的方法，它不受天气或土地的影响，可能有助于实现长期的恢复力和自给自足目标。全球垂直农业技术市场价值为31.2亿英镑，预计到2027年将达到167.7亿英镑，复合年增长率为23.28%（验证市场研究，2020年）。这一增长的驱动因素是高产量潜力、全年生产、超本地化生产、减少粮食里程和储存要求、缩短供应链、减少水和化肥的使用以及最低限度的农用化学品。虽然大多数垂直农业公司种植绿叶蔬菜和沙拉，但有机会将这项技术用于其他高价值的园艺作物，如浆果和移植物、较大的蔬菜和块根作物，以及植物性药物和蛋白质。我们将开发一种在TCEA条件下生产高质量、无病毒、无病、高产潜力的草莓植株繁殖体的方法。由此产生的预编程、高健康植物材料将实现繁殖体和果实的进口替代（目前每年价值4000万英镑和1.86亿英镑），减少化学投入和浪费（目前每年3000万英镑），并提供一种产品，当种植在传统的多隧道系统、温室（CEA）或TCEA中时，将为种植者提供价值和安全。为了实现这些成果，我们组建了一个多学科合作联盟，由Vertical Future（一家领先的垂直农业技术和研究公司）、NIAB East Malling（英国最大的园艺应用研究机构）、雷丁大学、领先的草莓种植者Hugh Lowe Farms和Clock House Farm以及他们的繁殖公司（分别为Blaise Plants和Linton Growing）领导。英国领先的营销平台Berry Gardens Growers Ltd， Delta-T Devices（农业技术传感器制造商）和Cocogreen（专业基板供应商）。

Ensuring food and nutrition security has been a constant struggle throughout human history, but perhaps never more so than now with a rapidly increasing global population (estimated to reach 9.7bn by 2050), the current challenges imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, and more locally, the legacy effects of BREXIT. Traditional production methods will be unable to meet these challenges, and so new innovation and technologies must be developed to provide food security worldwide - one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG2). New ways of growing fresh, nutritious, food with an assured shelf-life using fewer inputs and from a smaller area, and in more sustainable and cost-effective ways which circumvent limiting factors such as climate, land-use pressure, and inflationary costs are needed.Total Controlled Environment Agriculture (TCEA) is a promising method of growing plants that is not coupled with weather or land, and could contribute to long-term resilience and self-sufficiency targets. The global vertical farming technology market is valued at £3.12bn, and is estimated to reach £16.77bn by 2027, 23.28% CAGR (Verified Market Research, 2020). Drivers of this growth are the high yield potentials, year-round production, hyper-local production, reduced food-miles and storage requirements, shorter supply chain, use of less water and fertilisers, and minimum agrochemicals. While most vertical farming companies grow leafy greens and salads, there is an opportunity to utilise this technology for other high value horticultural crops such as berries and transplants, larger vegetables and root crops, and plant-based pharmaceuticals and proteins.We will develop a method to produce high quality, virus-and disease-free strawberry plant propagules with assured high cropping potential in TCEA. The resulting pre-programmed, high-health plant material will enable import substitution of both propagules and fruit (currently £40m and £186M per year), reduce chemical inputs and waste (currently £30m/year), and deliver a product that will provide value and security for growers, when planted in conventional polytunnel systems, glasshouses (CEA) or TCEA.To achieve these outputs, we have assembled a multi-disciplinary and collaborative consortium led by Vertical Future (a leading vertical farming technology and research company) with NIAB East Malling (the largest UK research institute conducting applied research in horticulture), the University of Reading, leading strawberry growers Hugh Lowe Farms and Clock House Farm, and their propagation companies (Blaise Plants and Linton Growing, respectively), the leading UK marketing desk Berry Gardens Growers Ltd, Delta-T Devices (agri-tech sensor manufacturer) and Cocogreen (specialist substrate supplier).