Op zoek naar onderzoeksaanvragen voor premium aardbeiensmaken

De voedselproductie wordt geconfronteerd met uitdagingen als gevolg van klimaatverandering, concurrentie om schaarse hulpbronnen en verstoringen van de toeleveringsketen. Een van de oplossingen hiervoor is is land- en tuinbouw in een gecontroleerde omgeving, waardoor het mogelijk is om de teelt en gewenste eigenschappen van gewassen in een gecontroleerde omgeving kunt verbeteren, Om de wetenschap van gecontroleerde land- en tuinbouw te bevorderen, zoekt het consortium Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research (FFAR) Precision Indoor Plants (PIP) onderzoekstoepassingen gericht op het begrijpen van de genetische en biochemische elementen die verantwoordelijk zijn voor premium aardbeienaroma’s.

Deze financieringsmogelijkheid is bedoeld om voort te bouwen op bestaand aardbeienonderzoek, inclusief smaakonderzoek, om onder andere het wetenschappelijke begrip van premiumaroma’s in aardbeien. Met premium-smaken wordt bedoeld: nieuwe smaken met potentiële commerciële waarde die grotendeels afwezig zijn in moderne commerciële variëteiten, en niet de verbetering van bestaande smaakvariëteiten.

De rest van de informatie over dit consortium is alleen in het Engels beschikbaar

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“Strawberries have a range of flavors that have been lost in modern varieties, but these flavor profiles still exist in nature,” said FFAR Scientific Program Director Dr. John Reich, director of PIP. “By understanding genetic and environmental influences on flavor, we can not only recover these flavors, but also expand our abilities to adapt crops to controlled environment agriculture.”

This funding opportunity aims to build on existing strawberry research, including flavor research, to increase scientific understanding of premium flavors in strawberry and how flavorful strawberries can impact the controlled environment agriculture sector. Premium flavors, in this context, are novel flavors with potential commercial value that are largely absent in modern commercial varieties, not the enhancement of existing flavor varieties. 

Eligible projects must identify genetic elements responsible for premium flavors, the chemical constituents responsible for those flavors, and environmental inputs that lead to the growing premium-flavored strawberries in controlled environment production systems.

Applicants from institutions of higher education, non-profit and for-profit organizations, government-affiliated researchers and domestic and international organizations are eligible for this opportunity. FFAR further highly encourages applications from Hispanic-serving institutions, 1890s Land Grant Institutions and other Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institutions.

According to Reich “Controlled environment agriculture could solve a myriad of food and agriculture challenges. This type of agriculture system can be housed in non-traditional spaces, including abandoned buildings, old warehouse and garages. As these spaces are often in or near urban areas, the foods grown there are closer to their intended consumers, reducing transportation costs and potential bringing new economic opportunities into communities.”

From a scientific standpoint, controlled environments offer unprecedented opportunities to improve nutritional content, flavor and crop quality. PIP leverages private-sector investments to develop crops specifically for controlled environment agriculture. 

As the consortium is fully funded by FFAR and its participants, there is no matching funds requirement for this funding opportunity. However, if a for-profit institution is part of the proposal, the project must have contributions from that organization.

PIP is accepting pre-applications until November 10, 2021 at 5:00 p.m. EST. Approved pre-applications will receive an invitation on January 4, 2022, to submit a full application. Specific information about nominations, eligibility and the application process can be found on FFAR’s website.