Can Controlled Environment Agriculture by Used to Create More Flavorful Strawberries?
“Strawberries have a range of flavors that exist in nature, but that are not readily available to consumers through current production methods,” said FFAR Scientific Program Director Dr. John Reich, director of PIP. “By using controlled environment agriculture, we can better understand the genetic and environmental characteristics that influence flavor.”
Why this research is important?
Food production continues to face ongoing challenges including climate change impacts and limited resources. In response to a changing environment, Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) offers a strategy to design optimal growing conditions to enhance desirable crop traits and to minimize use of water or other inputs. Currently, CEA focuses on leafy greens and herbs, as these crops are well-suited for indoor growing environments. Yet CEA has the potential to provide a broad variety of flavorful, nutritious crops.
This research uses CEA to determine strawberry varieties that can be grown indoors and develop varieties that will yield premium, novel flavors.