UK: Lettuce yield in a controlled environment is twice as high as in the field

Artificial methods of growing lettuce produce twice the yield of traditional field methods, according to a new study conducted by the University of Surrey (UK). The meta-analysis also showed that growing lettuce using artificial methods was faster: production rates were 50% higher in summer and up to 300% higher in winter. The results of the study were published in the journal Plants, AgroExpert.md reports. Researchers analyzed more than 120 published papers to determine the impact of using controlled environment agriculture (CEA) systems to grow lettuce, a high-value crop typically grown in such systems. The study found that on average, yields using CEA systems were twice as high as field farming (3.68 kg/sq.m. vs. 1.88 kg/sq.m.). The research team also found that the CEA crop growing time averaged 40 days. This is less than the average field growing time of 60-120 days. Interestingly, CEA methods for vertical farming (where crops are grown in layers) produced significantly ...