A brand new collaboration with The University of Essex and major onion manufacturer Stourgarden will allow researchers to cultivate the plant outside of conventional soil-based techniques… within the bright pink container of a shipping container.
Prof. Tracy Lawson, of Essex’s School of Life Sciences, is planning to employ the most innovative methods to produce onions, and also help Stourgarden find ways to make its farming process more eco-friendly.
Stourgarden is based within Great Horkesley, is one of Britain’s top onion growers. It also supplies its products to major retailers, world-class restaurants and food producers.
Professor Lawson is experimenting with techniques for growing aeroponic onions in a eco-friendly manner. This allows them to be growing in a soaring mist-like conditions. The partnership’s goal is to lower the carbon footprint from the process of production and speed up the growth process and also prevent diseases that can make soil inaccessible for the next crop. 
“This project is very thrilling as it extends our ongoing research on controlling light in enclosed environments as well as vertical farms. The research is being applied to a plant that has a variety of stage of growth, from seed germination through bulb growth. In collaboration with a local firm to create the ideal conditions for rapid growth, we have demonstrated the potential for translation and effect of this research,” Prof. Lawson declared.
Project leader of Stourgarden, Jonathan Bell, claims that the project will place onion production under a microscope, allowing researchers to gain a better understanding of the development of the plant and also the effects of environmental factors on the onion plant. “We will be looking towards the future and also how Controlled Environment Agriculture can play its part in the provision of onion to UK customers. The goal is to completely replace conventional cultivation in the field is not our goal, however there’s an important role in the role for CEA to help improve the current supply and growing. The first lab experiments in the University of Essex have shown that onion plants thrive in the controlled conditions and we intend to expand on the information already gained.”
The test will take place in a specially-designed container farm fitted with the latest aeroponic irrigation technology, provided through LettUs Grow. With the help of LettUs’ ultrasonic aeroponics plant growth, the plants do not require soil, and are irrigated with the nutrient-rich mist.
The plant benefits through a greater access to oxygen as well as improving plant health which results in higher growth rates and yields. This also helps reduce the consumption of fertilizer as well as water.
Jack Farmer, Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of LettUs Grow, said: “We’re delighted to collaborate alongside both Stourgarden as well as the University of Essex on a project on the forefront in the field of technology. Aeroponics is a potent technique for irrigation that has the capacity to be used to grow various crops in our food chain.”
Holly Leonard, Innovation Partnerships Manager for Essex, “We’re delighted to collaborate with our local partners in Stourgarden for this initiative..
More information is available here:
University of Essex
Tel: +44 (0) 1206 873333
Email: [email protected]