What is the secret to growing strawberries in TCEA?

Strawberry is an economically important crop, well researched and grown in every continent in the world, exceeding 8.89M tons production in 2019. In the UK strawberry consumption reached 196.7K tons, of which 72% were grown in the UK, 30% were imported and 2% were exported.  Strawberries are mainly grown in open fields and protected (plastic) agriculture, using a variation of techniques and practices, but mostly on tabletops.

At the same time, TCEA (Totally Controlled Environment Agriculture) industry keeps growing, with most of the projects working on leafy salads and microgreens. Only a 14% of the TCEA projects include some forms of berries, including strawberry cultivation.

So, could we finally grow strawberries indoors?  What is the secret to growing strawberries in TCEA? Can a strawberry project be profitable? What are the challenges of growing strawberries in TCEA? All these questions and more will be discussed and explored!

Katia Zacharaki will present the current trends in strawberry production worldwide and in the UK, she will also share some success stories and the challenges of growing strawberries in TCEA. The webinar will be interactive, engaging and will provide a collision space for like-minded interested growers, producers, scientists and enthusiasts for this field. And of course, there will be opportunities for a live Q & A at the end of the session.

Speaker info

Katia Zacharaki is working as Senior Research Engineer for Digital Farming involved in leafy salads, microgreens and strawberry research. She is working on her PhD with Harper Adams University and supports UKUAT as Communications Director.