About

Dr. Germán Sandoya at the University of Florida is developing heat-resistant lettuce varieties by focusing on those that withstand bolting and tipburn, using controlled environment experiments to study growth and energy efficiency.

In the second phase, he will cross the most heat-tolerant varieties with high-quality lines to create even more resilient lettuce for greenhouse production, with plans to explore additional germplasm resources if necessary.

Accomplishments

• Identified lettuce germplasm as a source of tolerance to warmer temperatures in CEA.
• Developed mapping populations to understand the genetics of heat tolerance in lettuce, integrating population genomics, transcriptomics, and methylomes to elucidate molecular pathways and responsible genes.
• Identified lettuce breeding lines with potential for cultivar release for CEA.
• Produced new cross combinations to select additional germplasm for heat tolerance in lettuce.

Publications

• L. Mata, R. Hochmuth, W. Laughlin, Y. Zhang, G. Sandoya. 2025. The extremely needed heat tolerance in lettuce for cultivation in controlled environment agriculture. Abstract for oral presentation. Florida Society of Horticultural Sciences. (Travel Award, $200)
• L. Mata, R. Hochmuth, W. Laughlin, Y. Zhang, K. Begcy, G. Sandoya. 2025. Identifying heat-tolerant lettuce for year-round cultivation in controlled environment agriculture. Abstract for poster presentation. South Florida Student and Post-doc Research Symposium. (3rd place, poster competition, $100)
• L. Mata, R. Hochmuth, W. Laughlin, Y. Zhang, K. Begcy, G. Sandoya. 2025. Extending lettuce season by boosting heat adaptation in hydroponic production. Abstract for flash talk competition. 2025 Inter-REC Poster and Flash Talk Competition. (3rd place, flash talk competition, $100)