‘Super lettuce’ research. Could it change how we grow in urban environments

The pioneering James Hutton Institute is behind all three pieces of research, which will take place in the newly established Advanced Plant Growth Centre in Dundee.

The ground-breaking CE-CannPharm cannabis project has secured £350k funding from the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and will aim to support the growing need for medicinal cannabis by helping standardise the product to meet pharmaceutical quality.

To do this it will use environment manipulation and the development of “new cannabis plant architectures”.

Derek Stewart, director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre, said: “These aare exciting projects for the James Hutton Institute team to be involved with.

“Medicinal cannabis is an increasingly important remedy and is becoming key in alleviating degenerative and neurodegenerative/dysfunctional diseases. We will play an important role in furthering pharmaceutical quality of these plants, reinforcing the UK’s importance on the world stage”.

In 2021 according to the International Narcotics Control Board, the UK dominated cannabis exports, contributing 43% of all global production. But we are also big consumers of the illegal product and in the UK as much as £3.57 billion was spent on underground cannabis in the UK in 2023.

Currently, cannabis varieties, or cultivars, vary greatly based on the region they are grown in – creating different cannabinoid profiles. The research in Dundee will aim to use Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technologies to create a consistent product.

Crops in the vertical tower at the APGC (Image: James Hutton Institute)

The ‘super lettuce’ project, named GxM, will focus on creating varieties of lettuce which thrive in low light conditions, allowing dense urban environments and indoor sites to be viable options for future growth.

The research aims to pave the way for a new era of ‘hyper-efficient’ urban agriculture that will improve both yield and quality by identifying key traits and optimising them for these previously unviable locations. It is also hoped the research will reduce the industry’s carbon footprint and help the UK reach its sustainability goals.

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Rob Hancock, deputy director of the Advanced Plant Growth Centre, who headed up the funding application for the GxM project said: “.This project will allow our scientists to make exciting advances with lettuce in urban environments by researching low light conditions and developing new varieties that will thrive in these conditions. We extend our thanks to our colleagues at the University of Reading and Tozer Seeds for their backing in the project.”

A third project, the centre says, will use state-of -the-art pulsing lights to revolutionise “how basil and other herbs are grown vertically – improving efficiency, nutritional quality and reducing energy consumption.”

Its goal is to help increase sustainability and improving food security and reducing the UK’s reliance on imported produce.

Derek Stewart said: “Research at the APGC will also see our team prove vital in the future food security and sustainability of this nation through our vertical farming project.”  

Scotland has been a pioneer in vertical farming. The first vertical indoor farm was set up by the James Hutton Institute and Scottish agri-tech business Intelligence Growth Solutions in 2018, and was, at the time one of the most advanced in the world.