Public Funding for Lightworks Poly Limited

Global use of pesticides has greatly improved crop yields but mounting evidence demonstrates multifaceted problems linked with long-term exposure to these chemicals; issues spanning society, economy, environment & human health. Even under normal operating conditions, maximum residue levels (MRL's) of pesticides on fresh produce (fruit and vegetables) are a significant supply chain issue leading to large-scale scrappage of valuable produce at international borders when it fails testing. With the emergence of COVID-19, suppliers warn that fresh fruit and vegetables will become increasingly scarce in Europe as the pandemic hampers the global movement of produce, the labor needed for crop harvest and technical barriers to trade; of which meeting strict MRL testing requirements is the highest priority. Governments and the global supply chains are now urgently looking at ways to ease any shortage, including "green lanes" to allow fresh produce to move quickly across borders but MRL testing procedures cannot be relaxed without risking consumer safety. We propose a possible solution to this problem by forcing crop plants to fight off economically important insect pests and disease themselves thereby reducing / or completely negating the requirement for pesticide usage in some circumstances. Our team at Lancaster University developed (and patented) such a technology over a decade ago now and licensed it to a global crop company. That technology relies upon crop seed being treated with a chemical that plants naturally produce to mount their equivalent of an immune response; not too dissimilar the type of vaccination now being developed for COVID-19\. Once the seed are treated the chemical breaks down within a few hours but the developing crop 'remembers' how to mount a faster and more intense response to future attack by economically important pests and diseases reducing the need for chemical pesticides. Whilst the technology has proved successful in some key agri-crops, limitations include the cost/stability of the active chemical and its need to go through normal pesticide registration processes which are rightly thorough and complex but also expensive/time consuming. In this project we propose to develop a highly-novel alternative approach that would be just as effective as our current technology, but use a simple light seed-treatment to duplicate its benefits allowing growers to reduce chemical pesticide use and thereby removing a major technical barrier (MRL's) to international trade in fresh produce.

Set against a backdrop of climate uncertainty the global middle class is projected to grow by 3bn to 4.9bn by 2030 and with it demand for horticultural crops (fresh fruit & veg). The industry therefore requires constant technological innovation to address current & future challenges. One of the most under expoited components of protected cropping is the polyethylene covers used to cover crops worldwide which have changed little in 30 years. Based on two decades of photobiology research (science of how different types of light affect biological systems) pioneered in the UK and commercially developed by LIGHTWORKS POLY with Lancaster University we are now able to use our unique models to design the optical properties of next generation crop cover products to extend growing seasons, improve yields and quality and reduce chemcial inputs based on crop and location. Following success in Turkey the Kingdom of Saudi Arabian government has invited discussion with their industry aimed at achieving similar benefits there and this project will faciliate that and in so doing help develop highly lucrative contracts in this high margin region.