‘Ferris wheel' plan to grow millions more strawberries
Dyson has developed a 16ft-high rotating ' Ferris wheel ' to grow millions more strawberries every year.
The rotating vertical growing system, housed in the company's 26-acre greenhouse in Lincolnshire, is tended to by robots wielding pruning shears and distributing 'insect predators'.
Sir James Dyson, the inventor and company's founder, said he had been motivated by concerns over Britain's food security and disappointment in the quality of fruit on offer in the UK.
He said: 'I believe Britain should grow its own food – it's important from a food security perspective and also in terms of quality.
'I have always been disappointed by the low-quality, tasteless fruit that is imported from overseas with all the associated food miles.'
He said Dyson Farming had been working since 2021 on using heat and CO2 from its anaerobic digesters to create the perfect conditions for growing strawberries all year round.
Dyson's Lincolnshire greenhouse is home to 1.2 million strawberry plants, which currently produce over 1,250 tonnes of strawberries. Sir James believes his new 'Ferris wheel' will increase yields by two and a half times.
Two aluminium rigs, each larger than two double-decker buses placed end-to-end, rotate the trays of strawberry plants to ensure they receive optimal sunlight, while an irrigation and drainage system ensures root health.
Robots select and pick fruit when it is ripe using vision sensing, physical manipulation and robotic shears, while other robots glide on rails next to the plants, shining UV light on them at night to prevent mould growth and ensure the health of the crop.
Year-round production is afforded by Dyson's nearby anaerobic digesters, which use micro-organisms to break down crops fed in from the surrounding fields to produce gas that drives a generator. The waste then goes back onto the land as organic fertiliser to increase crop yields.
Robert Kyle, a Dyson engineer, said the 6,000 strawberry plants in the trial had been 'extremely happy' in their 'Ferris wheel', and produced 'wonderfully sweet fruit'. He added: 'It has been a painstaking labour of love over the past 12 months.'
The Dyson family established Dyson Farming in 2012. It has since grown into one of the largest farming businesses in the UK, extending to 36,000 acres across Lincolnshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset.
Sir James said he had been inspired to invest in farming after working on Norfolk farms as a child.
He added: 'It's important that we not only produce high-quality food for the UK, but that we do it in harmony with the environment, be it improving the soil, encouraging pollinators with our wildflower field margins, or putting measures in place to increase Red Listed bird species on our land.'
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