Eagle Labs’ AgriTech Awareness Week champions innovation and collaboration

AgriTech Awareness Week focused on the collaborative nature of the support network available for UK agri-food start-ups and those with technological advancements, in order to help transform the industry.

CHAP Innovation Sector Lead, Richard Glass, spoke at the event to provide insight into how the four Agri-Tech Innovation Centres can contribute to this collaboration, including work on the ultra-fine bubbles (UFBs) project.

The UFBs project is being run by CHAP, crop spraying experts MagGrow and fellow UK Agri-Tech Centre Agri-EPI Centre. Richard said: “UFBs, or nano-bubbles, are microscopic stable and long-lasting liquid-based bubbles, that can carry gases, and substances of different kinds on their surfaces. We’re investigating how these can be used within an agricultural setting, to irrigate potatoes.

“Based at our Plant Phenotyping and Soil Health Facility at Cranfield University, three irrigation treatments will be applied, including one without UFBs. Following this, the crop will be scanned to detect differences in quality that are beyond the naked eye, as well evaluating overall yield.

“We hope to improve the uptake of UFBs by providing new trial data, to help support the concept that UFBs are a viable way of improving plant nutrient uptake whilst reducing potential spray drift.”

Also speaking during the session were Agri-EPI Centre, CIEL and Agrimetrics.

Barclays Eagle Labs is an incubator community for start-ups and entrepreneurs, with 20 sites across the UK. The aim is to drive innovation and transformation across a range of industry sectors.

The Eagle Labs AgriTech Programme aims to showcase innovations that have been created for, or can be applied to, the agricultural industry, with a view to supporting UK agriculture and the food supply chain, to help it to become the most digital-savvy farm force globally.

If you have any questions about CHAP, our Membership Scheme, or are interested in working with us on a specific project, then please send us an email using the enquiries form at the bottom of our homepage.