TAG | horticultural lighting
LED makes grass on Bundesliga football pitches ‘healthier’
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| The RheinEnergieStadion, home of FC Köln, on match day. The club is using a mobile frame kitted out with colour tuned LEDs to help the grass recover quickly from games. |
The Greenkeeper LED system in action at the FC Köln ground. Coloured LEDs are used to help spur grass growth.
FC Köln, which holds a prized place in the German Bundesliga, is using a mobile LED light structure that can move around the team’s training and match pitches beaming LED light onto the field.
The club hopes that the LEDs will speed up the turf’s recovery after taking a bruising during a match.
The areas in front of the goals see a disproportionate amount of traffic during a match and therefore need more treatment from the LED lighting.
The team has found that the system leads to grass filling in gaps damaged by play much more quickly than with the older system. Meanwhile, the LED sources are delivering energy savings at the same time.
Hennef, Germany-based Rhenac GreenTec AG developed the LED lighting system, named Greenkeeper, which uses Tina2 optics from Finland-based LEDiL Oy to deliver the required beam pattern.
The frame uses mainly red LEDs with a smaller number of blue LEDs to cover the well-documented chlorophyll absorption peaks of plants. Furthermore, the system includes an integrated infrared heating system to approximate ideal grass-growing conditions, as reported in LEDs Magazine.
FC Köln has found that the LED system delivers six times more light to the playing surface relative to the older HID system. And the mobility enables the pitch crew to move the system into areas that require extra attention.
Evidence gathered from numerous trials, taking place around the world, seems to prove that plants and crops grown using LED light sources, with spectrums tuned specifically to the individual plant or crop, will not only grow faster, but will generally be healthier and provide greater yields – something that bodes well for the future of the LED lighting industry.
A revolution is happening in horticulture. It’s a seismic shift that will change fundamentally how we grow plants – and it’s all down to lighting. Lux’s Horticulture Lighting Conference
bundesliga · grass growing led · greener grass · horticultural lighting · led horticulture · Novel Energy Lighting
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LEDs found to increase yields in wide range of plants
Comments off · Posted by admin in LED
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| Research found that 32 days after they were planted and nourished under LED light, tomato plants showed a 45 percent increase in height and a 28 percent increase in weight. |
Improvements in weight, morphology, flowering, root development and flavour have been spotted in plants grown under supplemental LED lights in greenhouses.
Tomato plants have been found to show a 45 per cent increase in height and weight when cultivated under LED lights.
The new research, which was conducted by LumiGrow, who develop LED technology for use on farms, noted an increase in flowering observed in cucumber plants, as well as a reduction in the spread of powdery mildew, which is a common problem.
Increased flowering rates were also found in tomato and cannabis plants. The research also aimed to pinpoint the optimum supplemental LED light intensity for strawberry production.
The research was presented by Dr. Xiuming Hao and Shalin Khosla of Harrow Research and by Dr. Melanie Yelton, who is vice president of research at LumiGrow, to an exclusive grower’s council at Harrow Research and Development Centre.
A broad range of growers made up the audience, including vegetable, floriculture and cannabis producers, all looking to take full advantage of the LED revolution in horticulture.
The research found that 32 days after they were planted and nourished under LED light, the tomato plants showed a 45 percent increase in height and a 28 percent increase in weight.
Improvements in weight, morphology, flowering, root development and flavour were also spotted.
LumiGrow’s inventive Grow Light Sensor technology was also displayed and discussed at the meeting. The sensor is able to measure and monitor ambient light from the sun and then analyses this collated information to decide how much supplemental LED light is required in the greenhouse to keep conditions consistent.
greenhouse led · horticultural lighting · led lighting · led lighting for plants · lumigrow · Novel Energy Lighting
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LEDs are set to change horticulture by increasing yields
Comments off · Posted by admin in LED, Philips LED
Ninety per cent of plant genes are regulated by light. So, by changing the light spectrum, it is possible to change how a plant grows, how fast it develops and its morphology.
Doctor Phillip Davis, business manager at Stockbridge Technology Centre uses light to manipulate the growth of plants, separating their development from dependency on good weather.
Not only this, but growing fruits and vegetables under LED light makes them less vulnerable to the threats of climate change. It is no wonder then, that interest in the role LEDs can play in farming is growing.
Lux spoke to Doctor Phillip Davis, business manager at Stockbridge Technology Centre in Yorkshire, who will speak at our Horticultural Lighting Conference, to find out what more can be done to speed up the LED revolution in farming.
The Stockbridge Technology Centre was originally a UK Government research facility set up after the Second World War to improve food production methods.
The site has survived through many changes, but it is now an independent industry owned site and registered charity, which delivers innovative R&D services to all sectors of the horticulture and agri-food industry.
Today, as the world population continues to grow, there is a real fear that we will run out of food. The role of the Stockbridge Centre in the twenty-first century is to bring forward technology that can improve food production sustainably to tackle the challenges of today.
‘LED lighting was technology that we recognised five of six years ago as being something that could really benefit horticulture,’ Doctor Phillip Davis, told Lux.
One of the greenhouses at the Stockbridge Technology Centre where tomatoes are grown beneath coloured LEDs. The glasshouse contains two types of Philips LEDs. Top lights are located above the crop, which are used to replace the standard high pressure sodium lamps and LED interlights are located within the canopy to maximise crop light use efficiency.
‘There is a huge amount of interest across the horticultural industry in LEDs. This is not just because of energy efficiency, but because of the potential light has to manipulate plants.’
The ability to change the colour of LED light is crucial. 90 per cent of plant genes are regulated by light. So, by changing the light spectrum, it is possible to change how a plant grows, how fast it develops and its morphology. It is also possible to change the flavour, the aroma, the antioxidant content and, potentially, the amount of vitamins produced by a plant.
STC uses a plant’s natural biology to do this and does not not alter or play with their genetic make up in any way. Instead, it uses light to improve the yields, quality, as well as the taste of the product being cultivated.
Light can be used to ensure that the taste of fruit and vegetables is consistent throughout the year, for example, ensuring there are no differences in taste between a strawberry grown in season and one grown in winter.
‘We spoke to a restaurant chef recently who said that it is quite difficult to design a recipe if the flavour of basil changes throughout the year,’ Davis said.
‘The systems that we are talking about are never going to replace field crops. What we are going to do instead is add another layer of crop production into the current system, which is robust enough to survive climate change and adds security to the food chain.’
‘We can produce the same quality basil all year round, meaning that every time you make a recipe you will need the same amount of basil every time.’
If the light environment is right, it is also possible to improve the rooting of plants when vegetative cuttings are taken. The right lighting can improve the strike rate of cuttings (i.e the number of plants taking root) from 20 per cent to nearly 100 per cent, meaning savings on labour and materials can be made.
More than a thousand commercial growers have visited Stockbridge to see the technology, but the use of LED on farms is still not particularly widespread.
‘The main delay in application is convincing growers that LED is an economically sensible move,’ Davis said.
‘This is because LED is more expensive that the lighting technology that is currently used on farms. When the price starts to drop there will be a lot of growers looking to invest in the technology.’
One of the main reasons for this is the fact that LEDs are constantly advancing at such a speed that prices of lighting units are remaining similar to what they were two years ago. Installation costs are falling, but the price of LED does still not appeal to many growers.
LED spectra can be adjusted to control many aspects of plant quality including appearance, height and flowering time.
The advantages of LED are considerable, as well as altering the light spectrum, the low temperature of LED means that they can be placed near to the plants without damaging them. There are also no heavy metals or glass in LEDs, whereas sodium lights do sometimes break leading to contamination.
But the main advantage of LED farming is that it is impregnable to global warming, which means plants can be cultivated without interruption, no matter what the weather.
‘The systems that we are talking about are never going to replace field crops,’ Davis says. ‘What we are going to do is add another layer of crop production into the current system, that is robust enough to survive climate change and adds security to the food chain. These systems will produce the same quality of crops all the time, without being dependent on weather.’
Since joining Stockbridge from academia, nearly half a decade ago, Davis has been really surprised by the interest that both the farming and the lighting industry has shown in his work.
He has been particularly impressed by the farming industry’s desire to bring academic science into practice, however he has been unsettled by the barriers that are in place to prevent this progress.
‘We need lower costs for LED farming to take off,’ Davis concluded. ‘But not at the expense of quality. Prices are coming down, but we need to be in a position where people look at the technology and say yes, this makes obvious economic sense.’
crop growing · greenhouse lighting · horticultural lighting · led for plants · led lighting · Novel Energy Lighting
Historically, lighting in farming and agriculture was seen purely from a human standpoint.
While all the sound and fury has been coming from the human-centric lobby, there’s been a quiet revolution going on in the agricultural sector. LED technology has brought massive change to the lighting for horticulture sector and the rearing of livestock. By creating LED systems that offer special spectral outputs, crop and livestock production is enhanced, reducing costs and increasing profits for farmers, while at the same time improving the quality of the product.
Historically, lighting in agriculture was seen purely from a human standpoint. It may be that our light sources left us with little option than to make the best use, or what we perceived as best use, of those sources. Now that we have a ‘tunable’ light source we are able to focus on providing the plants, birds and beasts with the best growing environment.
Horticultural lighting
Research has identified specific wavelengths that are needed to promote growth and fruiting in plants. By applying LED technology it has been possible to create dedicated lighting systems.
For example: chlorophyll absorption occurs in two ranges, 400-500nm and 600-700nm, and that means plants grow most efficiently under blue and red light. It’s worth noting here that plants are seen to be green because they reflect that wavelength. Green light is of no use to the plant at all.
The amount of light required for photosynthesis to take place matters because there is a direct relationship between the two, up to a point. There is a light saturation point where the plant cannot absorb any more chlorophyll, at around 700 micromoles per m2 per second. Any further illumination is a waste of energy (and money).
EXPLAINER: Micromoles
Lighting for plants is measured in micro-moles per second. Micromoles measure the number of photons that pass through a target area; one micromole of light equals a little over 62 quadrillion photons. That sounds very complicated but a new range of spectrometers is now available that provides micromoles per m2 per second readings as simply as they do readings in Lux.
Artificial lighting has been used historically to help extend the ‘growing day’ but we are seeing a move towards total managed environments where artificial lighting provides 100 percent of the illumination in the growing sheds. The LED systems are tuned to provide specific wavelengths according to the growth cycle of the specific plants.
Blue light can stimulate flowers to open up, beginning the plant’s daytime circadian cycle
Red light (and enhanced red light) is good for stem growth and flowering
Infra-red light can mimic the effect of sunset
The ratio between blue and red LEDs is specific to the plant type.
Poultry shed lighting
Getting the light right for poultry breeding is essential, because getting it wrong can be catastrophic for the population of a poultry shed. Stressed fowl become aggressive and it has been known for entire flocks of chickens and turkeys to be destroyed overnight as a consequence of the violence wreaked by the birds.
Research has identified the wavelengths that domestic fowl best respond to and it has been possible to create lighting that mimics the forest under-canopy lighting that birds ‘remember’ in their genetic make-up. This means that domestic fowl have peak sensitivity in the blue-green range, from around 500nm – 700nm, but there is also a substantial response in the UV(A) range – chickens can see ultra violet light that is invisible to humans.
Light at the red end of the spectrum needs to be handled very carefully. Red light promotes sexual activity and growth rate, though it is also thought that the excitation caused by the red wavelength can also be the cause of aggressive behaviour in well-populated sheds.
For the producer, the ideal situation is to create an environment where poultry do not exhibit stressful behaviour, such as over-eating. Layers also need to produce eggs with consistent sizes and ample shell thickness and fowl grown for their meat need sufficient environmental stimulation so that they move around, helping muscle development.
An LED system using specific wavelengths during the course of the day can result in an ideal outcome for the producer. It will produce calm birds that eat less but convert more of that food into body mass, they also come to maturity more quickly in a stress-free state, which means better meat for the customer.
Pig and beef unit lighting
Generally speaking, a lot of research still needs to be done on lighting for pigs and cattle. As we get closer to the human condition, the effect of 100 percent artificial lighting environments suggest that the situation is complicated.
Some of the data is to be expected:
24-hour illumination of pig sheds has reported detrimental effects
24-hour darkness is not an optimal condition
Piglets and weanlings benefit from additional daylight hours, but reproductive behaviour in boars is enhanced by reduced daylight hours. It all sounds very human.
From the point of view of the unit manager, one piece of information is valuable; neither pigs nor cattle appear to have any response to red light. This means that units can be supervised during the night-time by using red lighting – sufficient for security and over-seeing without upsetting the desired circadian rhythms of the beasts themselves.
As research data becomes available, it will be possible to design a lighting regime for pig units and cattle units that is cost-effective for the producer and most beneficial for the beasts themselves.
In summary, as the world’s demand for food increases, producers will need to find the most efficient ways of raising crops and livestock. For those products to have any real nutritional value for the (literal) consumer, then it is beholden on those producers to make sure that growing conditions are optimised for each species. LED lighting is well-placed to deliver the appropriate illumination.
agricultural lighting · horticultural lighting · led agriculture · led lighting · Novel Energy Lighting · poultry lighting · tunable light
