June 2022 - 9

be focused on flavor. Of the more
than 100,000 unique strawberry
varieties Driscoll's produces a year
in California, Florida, Mexico and
Europe, only one or two may become
commercially successful due to disease
or productivity performance.
Breeding can
SOREN BJORN
also focus on
berries that
deal well with
climate change.
Second only
to winegrapes,
strawberries
are sensitive
to changes in
microclimates.
A small shift in
a microclimate can suddenly move one
winegrape or strawberry variety from
being incredible to being just average.
It doesn't take much - a fog shifting
several miles from Monterey Bay to the
Salinas Valley can change the quality
of what can be marketed as a Driscoll's
strawberry, Bjorn said.
New frontier
The appearance, texture and size
of a strawberry grown vertically
indoors isn't expected to significantly
vary from its counterpart grown in a
field, he said. Driscoll's wants to grow
varieties that are naturally sweeter and
offer more consistent delivery.
" Indoors, a variety can consistently
deliver what you communicate about
its sweetness, " he said. " It takes away
those ups and downs that naturally
happen outside. "
In its infancy, technology for
growing berries indoors is expensive
and often custom-made, Bjorn
said. The work Driscoll's has done
with Plenty and its indoor farming
technology has been successful and
produced high-quality berries, he said.
In October 2020, Plenty announced a
round of investments from companies
that included Driscoll's, kicking off a
partnership to grow strawberries
year-round indoors.
" We had to learn a little from our
friends in Silicon Valley, " Bjorn said.
" You're on a technology curve that's
not on a straight line. It's growing
exponentially over time. "
In outdoor growing, a step change
could be growing raspberries in plastic
tunnels. Compare that to continuous
exponential improvements seen via
technologies coming out of tech
centers around the world, Bjorn said.
" We have had a lot to learn to get
into that world, " he said. " It's healthy
because it's made us think differently
about the rest of our business.
Organics aren't being considered
initially because Driscoll's plans to
market indoor berries differently and
promote elements of sustainability
more so than organic growing
methods.
Growing strawberries indoors requires a different breeding approach. With lower
pest and disease pressure, breeders can focus more on flavor. Photo: Driscoll's
" Plenty's innovative farming system
is a game changer for the agritech
industry, " said Arama Kukutai,
CEO of Plenty. " Our vertical tower
technology unlocks industry-leading
crop versatility and unit economics
by enabling indoor growing year
round. Our partnership with Driscoll's
is focused on building a scalable
solution to deliver peak season,
flavor-rich berries, at speed and
with maximum freshness, all closer
to where consumers live. We are
incredibly excited to open our first
farm dedicated solely to strawberries
for customers in the Northeast. "
" Berry growing is very high-touch
and requires a lot of attention, compared
to other growing, especially strawberries
and raspberries, " Bjorn said. " A grower
could lose a strawberry field in two
days. They just can't plant the berries,
go golfing or go on vacation and
come back. "
Viewing vertical farming as
complementary to conventional
growing methods, Bjorn doesn't
envision indoor berries ever replacing
field-grown.
" It's kind of like organics, which
became more complementary in
nature to our commercial strawberry
production, " he said. " It can attract a
new group of consumers. " VGN
2022 Seed
Digital Guide
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VGN | JUNE 2022 | 9
http://www.VegetableGrowersNews.com/Seed-Guide
June 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June 2022
