UK-Based Start-Up Phytoform`s Gene-Edited Tomato Produces Up to 400% More Fruit in Vertical Farms

Figure: UK-based start-up company Phytoform says their gene-edited tomato tailored for vertical farms could produce 50 to 300 kilograms per square meter, which is 180% to almost 400% increase compared to the conventional systems. Photo Source: Phytoform

November 13 2024

The United Kingdom-based trait development company Phytoform released a mini version of the popular tomato variety Ailsa Craig that is only one-sixth the size of a conventional tomato plant but produces five times the amount of fruit.

The UK-based startup used gene editing to produce the tomato that is tailored to the needs of vertical farms. Phytoform founder and CEO Dr. William Pelton said the tomato plant is a small crop and they are hoping it will be a reset to vertical farming. While conventional greenhouse tomatoes grow one long vine in a year, Phytoform's gene-edited tomato can fit three cycles per year, and pack 50 to 100 of its plants into the same space that one conventional plant takes up, which is around 1 square meter.

In trials, Phytoform says the gene-edited tomato has achieved a kilo of fruit for one 300-gram plant. “We can actually get 150 to 300 kilograms per square meter, which is 180% to almost 400% increase compared to the conventional systems,” says Pelton.

For more details, read this article.

See https://www.isaaa.org/kc/cropbiotechupdate/ged/article/default.asp?ID=21083