A new €5.7 million research project has been set up in order to make lettuce more resistant to pathogens and the effects of climate change as well as to improve its performance in new growing systems. To this end, researchers from institutions including Utrecht University will map the properties and genetic codes of 500 wild and cultivated lettuce varieties. ‘Our aim is to combine the most advantageous properties of these lettuce varieties into new varieties that will eventually end up on our plate.’

A complex interaction between genes and environment determines the characteristics of a plant. That interaction is the focus of a big new research centre: Netherlands Plant Eco-phenotyping Centre. With the knowledge acquired there, scientists hope to breed robust lettuce. Or salt-resistant potatoes.