Potato Review

22 POTATO REVIEW NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019 INDOOR GROWING area used for growing (117,000ha in 2018, according to AHDB Potatoes statistics) ➜ could drop to around just 5,500ha.” e main challenge to such a system would be CAPEX investment and running costs, he admits. “But spend on machinery, labour, transport and wastage, would all have to be evaluated in any comparison.” Storage saving Areas where costs could be o set include eliminating the need for storage because the crop would be grown for a just-in-time supply chain. Many farms already have sources of renewable energy such as solar or anaerobic digestion and there is an opportunity for the repurposing empty farm buildings and even potato stores for production. e GroPod and the John Innes Centre have also done work for Kettle Foods on producing a winter grown sweet potato crop for crisping. “ is proved to be a signi cant challenge, but once we got past the steep learning curve, it became easier.” “One of the things we learned was the importance of understanding how the crop responds to the environment. Everyone tends to focus on what is going on above the soil, but then you can get a 15ft vine with no tubers on it. “ erefore, we concentrated on what was going on below ground to control tuber production.” “Vertical farming has to be driven by market demand and price point, or the business is neither robust nor sustainable,” he said. “Consumers do not expect to pay more for a commodity vegetable.” “First, you need to focus on the market, and then speak to a processor to understand what you need to achieve in quality and performance. en you can explore the physiological requirements of the crop.” “To get there you need input from both commercial practitioners and scientists – and you have to understand each other’s language, too.” Other research currently ongoing at the JIC includes developing new crops for Controlled Environment Agriculture including a stem broccoli that can go from seed to harvest in under eight weeks, which would permit multiple crops throughout the year. “Vertical farming has to be driven by market demand and price point, or the business is neither robust nor sustainable.” Jonathan Clarke