GREEN-FINGERED horticulture students from Pershore College enjoyed a visit to one of the UK’s leading salad growers to learn how it uses technology to grow plants.
The students recently visited Valefresco, who supply major British supermarkets with a variety of lettuce and baby leafs, where they were given a tour by the company’s director, Nick Mauro.
The group were shown how the Offenham-based business use agri-tech methods to increase yield at their Hampton Lucy farm, where more than 400 tonnes of salad is harvested every week.
As well as visiting the farm’s growing fields and polytunnels, the students were also shown Valefresco’s new hydroponic system for growing pak choi.
A £500,000 grant from Worcestershire LEP is currently supporting the development of an Agritech Research Centre at Pershore College and is due to open later this year.
Professor Roy Kennedy, of the college, said: “Our new Agritech Research Centre will include a hydroponic growing room and 3D bioponics tunnel, similar to the set-up at Valefresco.
“It was fantastic for the students to see this in action so we’d like to thank Nick and the team at Valefresco for hosting the visit and giving us a real insight into how new technologies are being used in the commercial growing world.”
