Light Science Technologies’ rapid growth continues with key sales appointment

Agri-TechE

Jack Vickery has joined Light Science Technologies (LST) as National Account Manager as growth shows no signs of slowing for the AgTech specialist.

The new addition to its sales team is the latest of a string of appointments at the Derbyshire-based company which specialises in lighting and sensor technology for indoor farming, covering vertical farming, greenhouses and polytunnels. In recent months it has welcomed fresh talent to all aspects of the business in response to rapid growth and rising demand for more sustainable food production.

Jack’s first foray into the industry was as a commercial graduate at Philips Lighting, before working for the company in a commercial role for 10 years when it became Signify. Here, he worked across several sectors including the healthcare sector and also office and industry, where he worked with global automotive clients including Honda and Jaguar Land Rover, before working on major street lighting contracts and tenders.

In his new role, Jack will use his commercial acumen to grow the business’s fast-expanding customer base of indoor growers and nurseries across the UK.

On his new position, Jack commented: “It’s just exciting to be involved at the start of something at ground level which has huge growth potential. This opportunity also resonates with me on a more personal level, as we’re faced with an exploding global population we’re going to have to feed with ever-diminishing space and a disrupted supply chain. To do that in a more sustainable way requires a complete change in our approach to eating and growing fresh food. Ethically, it’s all our responsibility to do this, and it’s this clarity that will help me drive the business forward.”

Simon Deacon, Founder and CEO of LST, said: “Jack’s appointment could not have come at a better time during what is a pivotal period of growth for the company, we are extremely excited by the opportunities afforded to us.

“Jack will help support the business’ strategic objectives in continuing to build on our contracts and sales pipeline, and expand into new markets in lighting, sensors and automated crop production and management systems. He will without doubt bring an immense amount to the team in experience and skillset to help us achieve this.”

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Controlling light in farming

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Agri-TechE

Light powers photosynthesis in plants, and controlling light therefore has a direct impact on agricultural production.

One of the simplest ways to manipulate crop performance using light is in controlled environment production. The ability to mass produce LEDs with different light frequencies has revolutionised undercover cropping, changing the economics of production and enabling a much greater range of plants to be produced in vertical farms.

In the field, optimising photosynthesis efficiency can potentially increase yield and has been a Holy Grail of researchers for decades, who are trying to enhance this inherently inefficient process and make it more efficient.

Within the plant science research community, a major advance has been the understanding of how plants use light to measure time, an area known as chronobiology.

The big excitement is the knowledge that chronobiology extends beyond daily rhythms – it also impacts on many underpinning biological processes, including those that influence plants’ ability to manage drought stress and resist pests, providing new targets for breeding and innovation.

Intensive lighting regimes have shown that it is possible to create, under extreme conditions, eight harvests a year of wheat.

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Controlled Environment Agriculture – from glasshouse to vertical farm

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Agri-TechE

Is Controlled Environment Agriculture viable?

“We should not consider greenhouses and vertical farms as two diametrically opposed systems. Instead, they should be seen as on a gradient,” says Luuk Graamans, who is currently working as a researcher at Wageningen University & Research (WUR), investigating the feasibility of Controlled Environment Agriculture as a new production system.

“Greenhouses can incorporate the technologies from vertical farms to increase climate control and to enhance their performance under specific climates. The vertical farm is the pinnacle of climate control and may serve situations where such control is warranted, or where interaction with the exterior climate is undesirable.”

WUR and Delft University of Technology (TU Delft) have joined forces to investigate the feasibility of integrating vertical farming as a new production system within the urban energy network.

Luuk’s past research has shown that the effectiveness of Controlled Environment (CE) agriculture depends on a complex interaction between the production method, systems engineering, and the yield and costs of energy, water and CO2.

He says:

“Compared to more traditional food production systems, plant factories are able to achieve higher efficiencies for land area, water and CO2, but generally not for electricity.

“Greenhouses are generally more electricity efficient because of the freely available solar energy. Only in situations with little light and significant energy loss, or perhaps with excessive heat gain across the façade, may a vertical farm come out ahead.

“The important question is which resources you deem (in)valuable, and this is closely related to the local climate, context and market.”

Key opportunities for Controlled Environment Agriculture

Luuk’s research has shown vertical farming may prove to be an effective production system where:

energy loss across the greenhouse façade would outweigh the beneficial energy gain from sunlight, for example in cold climates with little sunlight.
resources like water, land or CO2 are scarce, for example in arid or densely populated areas.
there is a need to strengthen local food production independent of exterior climate, such as areas prone to extreme climate events or where there is dependency on imports.
there is potential to integrate the vertical farm into the energy network and provide additional services. For example, densely populated areas that rely on (intermittent) renewable energy sources.
energy loss across the greenhouse façade would outweigh the beneficial energy gain from sunlight, for example in cold climates with little sunlight.
resources like water, land or CO2 are scarce, for example in arid or densely populated areas.
there is a need to strengthen local food production independent of exterior climate, such as areas prone to extreme climate events or where there is dependency on imports.
there is potential to integrate the vertical farm into the energy network and provide additional services. For example, densely populated areas that rely on (intermittent) renewable energy sources.

Next steps for Controlled Environment Agriculture

Luuk continues:

“One of the biggest challenges on the production side will be to learn how to properly wield the technology. Although we have a system in which we can control most, if not all, variables of the production climate, at the moment the link between these variables, direct crop responses and crop growth is only understood superficially.

“Advanced imaging and sensor techniques will be able to track the actual plant status in real-time and increase our understanding of these processes. Only then can we truly formulate an optimal growing strategy and take advantage of the extensive climate control that vertical farming offers.

“On the technical side, an important challenge will be optimising the energy use of food production in Controlled Environment Agriculture and to integrate it in the broader energy system. The infrastructure of modern cities and countries is becoming increasingly complex and integrated. Food production should not remain independent but should benefit from the system as a whole.”

Wageningen UR has built new research facilities for vertical farming and crop research in Bleiswijk. These facilities will be used as a tool to study crop response, breeding, pollination and health. The system is designed to continuously track the water, CO2 and energy balance of the crop.

*Square Mile Farms bring vertical farms into the workplace by integrating farm-walls, farm-displays and other edible green spaces*

Autonomous growing environments or urban farms?

There are many business models:

Large scale production: Nick Bateman, of Growpura, creators of automated hydroponic bio-halls, comments that the ultimate controlled environment would be a fully automated environment.

“The other upside of automation is allowing the system to run in a clean-room environment, monitored entirely by sensors and without sources of contamination brought in by humans. Automation creates a fresher, more natural product free of pesticides, and eliminates the need for a washing process.”

Social innovation: Johnathan Ransom’s Square Mile Farms started with the concept of ‘flat pack farms’ for urban areas and now, through its Office Farmingmodel, is bringing vertical, urban farms to workplaces of big businesses to help them achieve their sustainability and employee well-being goals.

Production in arid areas: Michael Ruggier is the CEO of Airponix, which has developed a smart, sustainable and soilless system that is designed to support the growth of a broad range of food and niche crops with particular benefits where water is scarce. He explains: “In our solution roots are exposed to a nutrient rich fog which is more effective way of delivering the nutrients than any other system such as current aeroponics which spray the roots, or hydroponics which submerges them. It does not require an expensive pumping system or for the water to be changed, so in comparison to hydroponics we use a fraction of the water and can provide double the yield.”

To find out more about other technologies being developed for CEA in the Agri-TechE environment click here.

Nutrient mists enable production where water is scarce

Potential to support diversification

Lindsay Hargreaves, former MD of fresh produce growers Frederick Hiam, says value, freshness and seasonality all determine which crops are suitable for CE production in the UK:

“Being able to grow more exotic crops in East Anglia close to distribution centres would reduce the food miles. Additionally, there are opportunities to grow crops for pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and vaccines within a controlled environment. And then there is seasonality – thirty years ago, the berry market in the UK had a short growing season; now strawberries are a long season as well as high value crop, not just a luxury available for a few weeks. Bringing new crops indoors could open up big markets for UK growers.”

What does the future hold?

An indoor farmer, a technologist and a conventional fresh produce grower give their views on what to expect over the coming years.

Potential to improve the supply chain

Kate Hofman, CEO, GrowUp:

“Having been in the business of commercial controlled environment salad production since 2012, starting off with shipping container aquaponics before scaling up, Kate is in an excellent position to comment on the challenges of breaking into the UK leafy green supply chain.

“It will be really interesting to see how the food service world recovers after lockdown – the rough numbers are that supermarket trade was up at least 11% in the last year – so retail still looks like a really good direction to go in. If we want to have an impact on the food system in the UK and change it for the better, we’re committed to partnering with those big retailers to help them deliver on their sustainability and values-driven goals.

“We see the value in opening dialogues with all sectors of the industry, from broadacre to vertical, in terms of research and best practise – there are opportunities for collaboration around things like sustainability and food safety. And there is some overlap between these modes of production – I know several projects where conventional growers have looked into applying controlled environment technology to what they’re doing.

“But our focus is very much as a salad grower that grows a fantastic product that everyone will want to buy. And we’re focussed on bringing down the cost of sustainable food, which means doing it at a big enough scale to gain the economies of production that are needed to be able to sell at everyday prices.”

Container farms offer experiential food experiences

Jack Farmer, CSO, LettUs Grow: Feeding foodbanks in Bristol with local produce, whilst developing an automation and control software for vertical farms, LettUs Grow is now pioneering a new concept in farming with its Drop & Grow^TM growing units.

“This year is looking really exciting, regardless of what happens with the pandemic – supermarkets are investing to ensure a sustainable source of food production in the UK, which is what CEA provides. We’re also seeing a growth in ‘experiential’ food and retail, like microbreweries, and that’s also where we see our Drop & Grow container farm fitting in.

“The smaller model, Drop & Grow:24, is primarily focussed on people entering the horticultural space, be they entrepreneurs, new growers, agriculturalists who weren’t previously into CEA. We expect it to be one of the most productive, ethical, and easy to use container farms on the market. It is a core part of our strategy to be the leading technology provider in this space.

“Everyone in the vertical farming space is going to hit a crossroads, because vertical farming, with its focus on higher value and higher density crops, is effectively a subset of the broader horticultural sector. All the players in the vertical farming space are facing a choice – to scale vertically, and double down and try to capture as much value in that specific space through vertical integration, or to diversify, and take their technology expertise broader. ”

Controlled Environment Agriculture vs outdoor field crops?

James Green is Director of Agriculture at G’s, one of Europe’s leading fresh produce growers. He explains:

“There’s a spectrum from outdoor grown field crop, which is what G’s does, through to various polytunnel/greenhouse set-ups, all the way to vertical farming under fully artificial lighting. And there’s a balance in all of these systems between energy costs for lighting, energy costs for cooling, costs of nutrient supply, and then transportation and the supply and demand.”

G’s, which grows about 10,000 hectares of outdoor salads in the UK and Spain, is maintaining a watching brief on the area.

“For commercial production and the finished goods, we still see the economics of CEA as challenging. However, that doesn’t mean it won’t change as technologies, such as solar panels, become more effective and cheaper.

“I think a blended approach, where you’re getting as much benefit as you can from nature but you’re supplementing it and controlling the growth conditions, is what we are aiming for, rather than the fully artificially lit ‘vertical farming’.

“In the short term we see potential for indoor farming to enhance our plant propagation, so that – by using enhanced light or aeroponics technologies – we can get ‘better’ plants that are more uniform or less disease prone for planting outdoors.

“At the end of the day, sunshine is pretty cheap and it comes up every day… but the question is, which production model will work for us in the future?”

Briefing last modified March 2022.

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Silal and Aerofarms collaborate to increase resilience of Abu Dhabi agriculture

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Agri-TechE

A collaboration between Silal, Abu Dhabi’s leading fresh produce and agri-tech company, and AeroFarms, a leader in indoor vertical farming, aims to increase crop resilience and support the adoption of advanced farming systems in the country.

The two organisation have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to forge a long-term research and development collaboration that aims to improve yield, reduce cost and waste, and enhance environmental sustainability practices in agriculture across the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

Increasing crop resilience

A particular focus would be to improve the genetics and seedling quality of vegetable and fruit varieties so they become more resilient and tolerant to extreme growing conditions.

The quality of the seedling quality is essential for good crop establishment, growth and yield and the collaboration would evaluate and test crops that have large consumer demand such as chilli pepper, capsicum, cucumber, tomato, lettuce, broccoli, courgette, melons, eggplant, strawberry, and blueberry.

Salmeen Obaid Alameri, CEO of Silal, explains that by working with AeroFarms, the company will explore advanced farming techniques that will enable local farmers to produce better, smarter, and more sustainably. This will bring far-reaching benefits for producers and consumers. “Our collaboration is another monumental step for Silal in its efforts to drive, deliver and safeguard the high-quality food supply for the UAE and its people.”

David Rosenberg, Co-Founder and CEO of AeroFarms, says the company is excited to partner with Silal to “create innovative agricultural breakthroughs that will improve the food system in the UAE.”

Indoor vertical farm test centre

The trials and experiments on the crops will be conducted at AeroFarms AgX facility, a state-of-the-art indoor vertical farm in Abu Dhabi, and the largest research centre of its kind in the world. Also, experiments on crops identified by both parties and which are valuable to local growers will be held in Silal’s farms. Additionally, knowledge transfer opportunities will be looked at for training, workshops, and seminars to share expertise with wider farming communities in Abu Dhabi.

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Light Science Technologies grow-light cloche gains £503k funding

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Light Science Technologies (LST) has been awarded £503,000, by Innovate UK funding to develop an intelligent LED grow-light cloche for use within polytunnels and glasshouses.
The grow-light cloche will extend the growing season, enabling farmers to grow a wider variety of produce all year round. It will incorporate LST nurturGROW sensor and its nurturGROW luminaire, a semi-automated system for soil-based growing within polytunnels and glasshouses.
The consortium includes Zenith Nurseries, and the prototype will be tested at its growing site.
The solution aims to improve productivity by more than doubling the number of yields possible each year.
The initial potential UK market includes over 4,000 industrial growers, producing over 300 types of field-scale and protected vegetable and salad crops, and tree and berry fruits covering over 10 million m2.
The total market size for polytunnel in Europe is worth a potential £2.96 billion in 2022 with a predicted CAGR of 9.6% from 2021-28.

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Agri-TechE

A heat sensitive coating, which optimises the amount of sunlight entering the greenhouse or polytunnel, could save growers thousands of pounds each year by removing the annual cost of applying and removing shade paints.

The coating, developed by University of Bristol spin-out Albotherm, stays transparent on cooler days to let maximum light through, but becomes opaque as temperatures rise.

Albotherm, presented in the REAP 2021 Start-Up Showcase.

Responsive coating moderates temperature

Molly Allington, CEO and Co-founder of Albotherm, explains that temperature control in the glasshouses is critical for maintaining crop health and maximising yields.

“In the UK, temperature control is achieved through application of shader paints, which act as a sun-protecting screen during the summer months and are then removed for the winter.

“Our coating would be applied once as a transparent layer. As the glass reaches a specific temperature it would gradually become opaque, and then become clear again as it cools. The benefit is that it would allow passive temperature control throughout the year and not require the costly painting and removal.”

The idea for the coating emerged during CTO Sian Fussell’s PhD research into temperature responsive materials, explains Molly: “Sian realised the materials could have applications in agriculture, so we built a bench-top model greenhouse in the lab and applied our materials. It worked really well, lowering the temperature by 5-10 degrees. That’s when we realised it could have real-world use.

“We are designing the thermoregulation product to be applied to the glass as a spray-painted coating, in the same way that current shade paints are applied, so it will fit within normal procedures.

Spray coating is time saving

Molly continues: “We are designing the thermoregulation product to be applied to the glass as a spray-painted coating, in the same way that current shade paints are applied, so it will fit within normal procedures.

“In the long term, we see this as a platform technology as we can use turn out materials into a coating for a range of materials, potentially including polytunnels. We are also able to create formulations that transition at different temperatures, ranging from 18 to 45 degrees, so we can control the amount of light that is being blocked, thereby cost-effectively maintaining optimum temperature and light level in the tunnel or glasshouse for different varieties of plants and climates

“Additionally, our technology can be used on conservatory roofs.”

The company is based at Future Space, an accelerator in Bristol, and is involved in product trials.

“Right now, we are refining the product for market – we’re pretty close to having a minimum viable product,” says Molly. “Moving forward, it’s a matter of improving the durability of that, and then scaling up over the next six months.”

Technologies to extract greater value from available light and the feasibility of year around production of green vegetables are among the topics to be discussed at the Agri-TechE event ‘Let there be Light’ hosted by the University of Essex Plant Innovation Centre on the 22nd February.
Find out more and book your place here.

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Agri-TechE

Yield, taste and time to harvest can all be impacted by light. So, increasing the rate of photosynthesis, the process by which plants convert sunlight to biomass, has the potential to improve agricultural productivity and the nutritional value of the crop. Technologies to extract greater value from available light and the feasibility of year around production of green vegetables are among the topics to be discussed at the Agri-TechE event ‘Let there be Light’ hosted by the University of Essex Plant Innovation Centre on the 22nd February.
This in-person event will include an exhibition with the chance to talk directly to those at the leading-edge of these technologies.

Could Glaia ‘sugar dots’ increase rate of photosynthesis in field crops?

Field crops could also benefit from technology to accelerate the rate of photosynthesis. Agri-tech start-up Glaia is achieving this by using a naturally occurring carbon-nano material to create ‘sugar dots’ that can be sprayed on to foliage. Once located on the leaves the dots increase the number of light-harvesting antenna, improving the response to light. When applied to wheat, strawberries, and tomatoes they have been shown to increase yields between 20-40%.

Could UK be self-sufficient in leafy greens?

A blended approach of field and undercover cropping may increase the UK’s potential to be self-sufficient in leafy greens, says University of Essex researcher John Stamford, who is looking at how to use tailored LED lighting recipes to improve crop performance and yield as part of the Interreg2Seas funded Hy4Dense project.
“Speaking to farmers, there are a few issues around the supply of leafy greens in the supermarkets. Around November production switches from the UK to Spain which means we are importing these crops over the winter months. The idea here is to improve accessibility of hydroponics in order to potentially have cost-effective year-round UK production. Light plays an important role in that.
“For instance, growing under red light for the first few weeks may cause the plant to focus more on biomass growth, and then transitioning into blue light in the last week before harvest, the plant is stimulated to generate a range of pigments, secondary metabolites, and flavour compounds. So that could maximise yield and flavour in the crop.”
John has experimented with artificial day lengths and changing the quality of light that a plant receives over time to see the impact that has on flavour and other properties: “A plant responds to light quality and quantity in order to optimise itself for the environment, and we can use this response to customise the flavour and morphology of the plant. Some consumers have a preference for larger, leafier, plain tasting leaves whilst others prefer smaller, more flavourful leaves.”

But still challenges to overcome

lettuce Lighting can also be used to reduce time to harvest, according to research by Jim Stevens of Vertical Future, an engineering firm that designs controlled environments for clients. Vertical Future recently announced a £21million fundraising round, which will be used to boost its development pipeline and widen the options of what can be grown.
Jim explains: “Growing lettuces at supermarket prices in vertical farms may be feasible if we can get their growth cycle down from eight weeks to six or even five. The problem is, lettuces suffer from tip burn, especially if they grow too fast. These ugly brown spots on the leaves are caused mainly by slow transpiration of water through the plants and are unsurprisingly rejected by consumers.”
“One option is to change the light spectrum to increase transpiration at higher light levels – for example turning up the blue spectrum to trigger the plant’s stomata to open and cool the plant.”
Other speakers at ‘Let there be light’ include:

Molly Allington, CEO of Albotherm, whose heat-sensitive shade coating optimises the amount of light entering the glasshouse or polytunnel
John Matcham, Technical Director of Light Science Technologies, developers of novel lighting recipes for a variety of environments
James Millichap-Merrick, CEO of Vitabeam, whose ‘Quantum Energy’ lighting has been shown to boost yield and extend shelf-life of fresh produce.

The exhibitors include:

Kroptek developer of LED grow lights, the company recently announced a collaboration with Surexport to fast-forward the strawberry season by a full month with the best quality of fruit.
GE Current – providers of professional horticultural lighting solutions for greenhouses and indoor farms
Pro-Lite – portable plant science instruments that measure and analyse everything from roots to leaves including rate of photosynthesis, canopy structure, leaf area, spectroscopy, and root function.
Glaia – developers of nanotechnology-based solutions for sustainable agriculture

Find out more and book your place here.

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Agri-TechE

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Overcoming the limitations of time – REAP report launched

Agri-TechE Article

Agri-TechE

Emerging technologies to overcome the limitations of time were discussed at the recent REAP 2021 conference – the report REAP 2021 – ‘Changing Time(s) For Agriculture’ has just been released.
There is much discussion of how more efficient use of resources will make farming more productive, but there are two dimensions that are frequently overlooked – time and light – and these resources are intrinsically linked.
Timing is crucial in agriculture, through the natural cycle of sowing to harvest and birth and maturation of livestock, but also for strategic decision-making such as predicting demand for perishable goods and scheduling interventions. For humans, without automation, the working day is limited by the number of daylight hours available. Light is also key to agricultural production.
At REAP this year the delegates and speakers were asked to imagine a world where time was not an obstacle. Together they reviewed emerging agri-tech that has potential to remove this constraint from agriculture and unlock greater potential from all of its resources.
There was a lot of information to absorb on the day, along with all the networking and the International Café, so the report provides an opportunity to review the content at your leisure. If you are interested in following up with some of the speakers then do let us know. Hope to see you at the next one – save the date Tuesday 8th November for REAP 2022.
In the meantime, thanks again to our 2021 sponsors.

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Agri-TechE

Moulds such as mildew and botrytis are major issues for undercover crops. Vitabeam has developed an innovative lighting system that promotes plant growth whilst improving product shelf life by disinfecting the product during growth and before packaging. Using a unique combination of light wavelengths, the company has created VQe (Vitabeam Quantum Energy), a lighting strip that can be easily used in combination with existing lighting systems.

Vitabeam is talking at the Agri-TechE event ‘Let there be light – powering plant production‘ on 22nd February 2022.

CEO James Millichap-Merrick explains that one contact in the USA was losing 33% of their lettuce at the greenhouse door due to mould attack, before they asked for help from Vitabeam.

“Currently moulds are controlled by spraying the crop with chemicals or by chlorine washing the product post-harvest, but Vitabeam offers the same control without leaving harmful residue on the product.

“The VQe MaxStrip is a safe light energy that can be used throughout the growth cycle of the crop, as well as during storage and shipping of the product. The light strip is hung above the crop and is used in conjunction either with natural lighting or artificial lighting.

“By adding to the spectrum of light already being used, VQe has been shown to give yield enhancements, with some growers finding 10% to 30.1% increases in yield over conventional lighting.”

Vitabeam is gaining interest from the US, India and China and is keen to talk to UK growers at the Agri-TechE event about trials of the product. James continues:
“We began new trials at the end of 2020, following Innovate UK funding, and we now have some really strong relationships – the trials are in greenhouse and polytunnel environments, working with fruits, basil, lettuce and other produce.

“There are known spectra of light that plants respond to, and growers we work with are using LED lighting to create specific ‘light recipes’ and enhance certain traits of the plant.

“Specifically, in basil, our lighting has created stronger plants with a more ‘crisp’ structure, which enhances shelf-life and cold storage. After harvesting, plants can wilt very quickly. Therefore, making the plant structurally stronger by using the VQe MaxStrip is a clear benefit for retailers and customers.

“We are really keen to contact more growers in the UK to establish more of these relationships. And that’s our mission for 2022 – starting with February’s Agri-TechE event.

“Every grower is unique, and there are plenty of variables for us to investigate which alter the performance of our lights, including distance from the crop, intensity, duration and different crop types. There’s a real interest in our technology, from growers, to understand how Vitabeam VQe benefits their growing systems.

“Anybody who would like to connect with us can get in touch by email and we will discuss how Vitabeam can help their company, and if they are interested in trials, we can organise that starting with a site visit.”

The Agri-TechE event ‘Let There Be Light – Powering Plant Production’ will take place on Tuesday 22nd February from 10:00 am – 2:00 pm at the University of Essex’s STEM Building in Colchester.
Speaking along with James Millichap-Merrick will be Tracy Lawson and John Stamford from University of Essex, John Matcham from Light Science Technologies, Molly Allington from Albotherm and Jim Stevens from Vertical Future.
Find out more and book your place here.

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LettUs Grow partners with Octopus Energy to reduce energy costs for vertical farming

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Energy consumption can account for between 40-50% of production costs in vertical farms and lighting costs alone can account for 25-30% of the operational costs. LettUs Grow, LettUs Grow energy efficiency has integrated an Agile Business tariff into its Ostara management system that enables indoor farmers to adjust their plant’s growth cycles to align with lower energy costs.
The partnership with Octopus Energy has just won the Best Energy Efficiency category of the Zenith Global Vertical Farming Awards.
Jack Farmer, co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of LettUs Grow explains that the crops are given ‘down time’ between 3-7pm when electricity is in high demand and most expensive. “This can ultimately cut down on costs, reduce the environmental impact of vertical farms and also takes some pressure off the electrical grid at times when the UK usually has to call on fossil fuel generators to meet demand. Octopus have developed a tailor made tariff ‘Vertical Power’ especially for vertical farms.”

Optimising performance minimising cost

Ostara is a farm management toolbox which can provide agile, closed-loop control and be used to optimise plant growth.
Vertical farming – growing crops indoors under fully controlled conditions using LED lights – is undoubtedly an energy-intensive process, however vertical farms are steady and predictable energy users that have been proven to integrate well with renewable energy production. If supplied by renewable energy, vertical farming can have a carbon footprint of zero, which will help the UK work towards its goal of net zero by 2050.

Agri-TechE CEA speaker Jack Farmer - Lettus Grow — Jack Farmer, LettUs Grow

Jack continues: “Our two research and development vertical farms, based in Bristol, are both powered by Octopus Energy’s 100% renewable energy. We have also teamed up with Octopus Energy to integrate our very own farming management software platform Ostara with their Agile Octopus smart tariff, which received recognition at the Global Vertical Farming Awards and the Better Society Energy Awards this year.
By integrating an Agile Business tariff into Ostara, indoor farmers can adjust their plant’s growth cycles to align with lower energy costs.
Here at LettUs Grow, we are dedicated to reducing carbon footprints, as well as food waste; we are always looking for ways to reduce our environmental impact and reliance on fossil fuels. We are thrilled about winning two energy awards this year with Octopus Energy, and hope our collaboration can continue to bring forth more positive impacts.
More about LettUs Grow

Agri-TechE has an event on 22nd February 2022 about the use of light for agriculture and it will feature a number of energy-efficient technologies. More information Let There Be Light – Powering Plant Production

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Crops, Varieties, Breeds, Rotations

Zayndu seed cleaning accelerates salad leaf growing cycle

Meet the Network

Agri-TechE

“We’ve seen some amazing results, particularly for crops such as Amaranth, where treated seeds have resulted in significant reductions in infections, improved germination rates, higher yield and reduced losses,” says Dr Katie Wilkins, Senior Plant Scientist at Vertical Future, about Zayndu’s ‘activated air’ seed cleaning technology. Trials have shown baby leaf salad crops germinate a day faster following treatment and Zayndu is to announce its findings at the Global Vertical Farming Expo (GVFE) 2021 on 1-2 December 2021.
Ralph Weir is CEO of Zayndu, a spinout from Loughborough University. He explains that its technology uses a ‘cold plasma’ generated when an electrical current moves through air, splitting the oxygen and nitrogen molecules and creating a powerful disinfectant with no residues. “Our initial focus was removing fungal spores from seeds, and this has been successful,” he says. “We then observed that treated seed was germinating faster and had a higher germination success rate. For crops such as microgreens, where there is a 10-day cycle, 1- or 2-days faster germination will have a massive impact on productivity.
“Cleaning seed with activated air has the potential to increase productivity by 10% or more and reduce the risk of fungal disease, without the need for chemicals or hot water.”
The company is collaborating with Vertical Futures and Niab on CHOPS (CEA Heirloom Optimisation and Pathogen Control of Seed), an Innovate UK funded project to create a quality-marked, high health status seed system.
Vertical farms are closed systems, so are vulnerable to rapidly spreading fungal diseases. To prevent this the highest levels of hygiene are required, including cleaning seeds to remove fungal spores, the options for which are currently limited.
Katie continues: “We are very excited to be working with Zayndu and Niab on this project and using this technology in our vertical farms. Increasing yield has a significant impact on the productivity and sustainability of this industry.” Dr Jane Thomas, senior pathologist at Niab, comments: “A non-chemical approach is really advantageous for vertical farms. Zayndu’s cold plasma treatment is a good technology and one of the few options available for vertical farming.
“The alternatives are hot water treatment, which can knock back germination of viable seed, or possibly UV lighting, which has the potential to damage the seed.
“The accelerated germination rates are very interesting. It could be that the treatment is ‘priming’ the seed by physically altering its coating which is encouraging rapid germination. Salad leaves are a short-lived crop, so reducing the cycle by a day will have a big benefit for productivity, allowing more harvests within a fixed period and space.”
Zayndu’s activated air technology is completely dry and chemical free. The company launched its small mobile unit Aurora Z10 earlier this year to allow small batches of seeds to be disinfected by growers as they are required. For the first time, it enables many high value seeds such as tomato or fast-growing seeds like rocket to be disinfected. Ralph says the technology may also allow more species to be grown undercover.
“Our technology removes fungal spores from seeds, which can be a godsend – for example, we remove 100% of fungus from peas, which are notorious for carrying high fungal loads.
“Infected pea shoots become slimy, smell horrible, and lead to the crop being destroyed – and they may infect other crops within a tightly-packed vertical farm. Removing the fungi would make it easier to grow high value pea shoots in a controlled environment.”
Zayndu is offering a new batch testing service; breeders and growers keen to see the results for themselves should contact Zayndu via seedhealth@zayndu.com, or via the website: zayndu.com.
More about Zayndu.

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Analytik launches new HyperAixpert multisensor plant phenotyping system

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Gardin’s new device gives rapid insights into plant physiology

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Agri-TechE

Detecting changes in the rate of photosynthesis can give a fast indication of the plant physiological state, resulting from the levels of water, light, temperature or nutrient levels. Gardin announces at REAP 2021 it has developed an optical phenotyping sensor, this low-cost device gives the grower timely recommendations for action.
Fabrizio Ticchiarelli, Lead Biologist at Gardin, presented in the Start-up Showcase at REAP 2021. He says: “We wanted to provide a tool that measures plant health, produce quality, ripeness, and plant yield – but we want to be able to measure that directly, to be able to react quickly to problems or engineer desired responses, such as fruiting or increasing the content of specific nutrients.
“Existing phenotyping devices measure plant features such as height, leaf size, shape and texture, which allows them to report on how well the plant is growing. However, these physical plant metrics are the end-result of processes in the plant cells that have been going on for days or weeks, so there is a lag in these metrics.
“To get a much more immediate indication of plant health and activity, you need to measure plant cell processes directly. That’s what we’re doing.
“The optical phenotyping sensor we are currently developing uses chlorophyll fluorescence, which is a signal that allows us to monitor photosynthesis directly, telling us how efficiently photosynthesis is occurring in each leaf and each part of the plant.
“Our prototype has completed trials in controlled environments with key clients; we would now like to talk to more growers and to tech developers about integration with automated systems and applications within precision agriculture.”
Find out more at gardin.co.uk.

REAP 2021: Changing Time(s) for Agriculture – 10th November 2021

Imagine a world where agriculture is not constrained by time. The ability to manage and manipulate time is increasing and REAP 2021 will explore the advances in technology and breakthroughs in science that is making this possible.
REAP brings together people from across the agri-tech ecosystem who believe that innovation is the engine for change. The conference bridges the gap between producer needs and technology solutions and showcases exciting agri-tech start-ups.

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But still challenges to overcome

Find out more and book your place here.