A scientific team from the Faculty of Horticulture focuses on cultivating special crops—duckweed (Lemna) and pennycress (Thlaspi arvense)—in which they aim to stimulate increased production of certain compounds. This could make the raw material suitable for the production of nutritionally richer foods. Neither of these plants is currently grown commercially in the Czech Republic; work with them is carried out only at the experimental level.
In duckweed, researchers concentrate on increasing protein content, while in pennycress they focus on the production of sulforaphane, a compound with anticarcinogenic properties. “This is not about breeding new varieties, but about searching for entirely new food sources and adjusting cultivation conditions in an indoor environment. In this way, we stimulate plants to naturally produce higher levels of specific compounds,” explained Robert Pokluda from the Department of Vegetable and Floriculture at the Faculty of Horticulture, MENDELU.
The cultivation experiments and possibilities for use in the food industry are carried out by the Department of Vegetable and Floriculture together with the Department of Post-Harvest Technology of Horticultural Products at the Faculty of Horticulture. “Optimizing cultivation conditions makes it possible to stimulate higher production of target compounds, allowing the raw material to be further used for the production of nutritionally richer foods,” Pokluda described.
In the case of duckweed, the first step was to secure promising genotypes—genetic material with good potential for rapid propagation and possibly high protein production, which is the main focus of the research team for this crop. “Subsequently, within specific genotypes, we optimize cultivation conditions in order to stimulate faster growth and achieve the highest possible protein yield. This involves working with the composition of the nutrient solution, different light intensities, and the composition of the light spectrum,” the scientist outlined.
The approach for pennycress was similar. “The selection of suitable genotypes was ensured by collecting flowering plants from various locations across the Czech Republic, after which the sulforaphane content of these samples was determined. This compound is generally present at high levels in cruciferous vegetables, but current results indicate that pennycress contains it in significantly higher amounts. Further work on pennycress will also continue along a similar path as with duckweed, focusing on optimizing cultivation conditions to stimulate sulforaphane production and achieve the highest possible yields,” Pokluda added.
Contact for further information:
prof. Ing. Robert Pokluda, Ph.D.
+420 605 405 295
robert.pokluda@mendelu.cz
Department of Vegetable and Floriculture, Faculty of Horticulture, MENDELU