Signify Announces New Philips Horticulture LED Partner Hortipar

June 28, 2021

Eindhoven, the Netherlands – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, has signed a partnership agreement with Hortipar, an expert in realizing lighting projects for the horticultural sector worldwide. Hortipar is based in ‘s Gravenzande, the Netherlands, and operates mainly in North America, Canada, Eastern Europe, and the Netherlands.

Hortipar will now add Philips GreenPower LED grow lights to their global portfolio. Focussing on quality, flexibility, knowledge, and expertise, Hortipar offers their customers a complete solution for their greenhouse from the beginning till the end of a lighting project. With their independent advisors and team of dedicated experts, Signify is proud to add Hortipar to the global partnership network of Philips Horticulture LED.

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“We are excited to be a partner of Signify and offer the range of Philips GreenPower LED grow lights to our customers”, said Aad van Ruijven, director at Hortipar. “Sustainability and innovation are of great value to us and to our network. Our customers expect the highest quality, and that we offer them the full package for their lighting installation, together with high-end advice and project management. The expertise of the team at Signify and their Philips GreenPower LED grow lights fit perfectly within these expectations and in our ambitions for the future.”

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“Adding Hortipar to our global network of certified Philips Horticulture LED partners is something we are proud of”, said Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture at Signify. “According to our estimates, about 30% of the world’s greenhouse surface will be lit by 2025, and LED technology will light more than half of that surface. Therefore, we are continuously pursuing further development of our Horti LED partnerships worldwide, and Hortipar is a valuable addition.”

Signify continues to expand its Horticulture partner network, further demonstrating its commitment to lead the horticulture industry as the innovative LED lighting systems provider for greenhouses and indoor farming. 

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 For further information, please contact:

Global Marcom Manager Horticulture at Signify

Daniela Damoiseaux

Tel: +31 6 31 65 29 69

E-mail: daniela.damoiseaux@signify.com

www.philips.com/horti

About Signify

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2020 sales of EUR 6.5 billion, we have approximately 37,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for four consecutive years and were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018 and 2019. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.

Why Does Energy Efficiency Matter When Selecting LED Grow Lights?

Exclusives From Urban Ag News

June 29, 2021 Chris Higgins

Learn the 3 things to consider when choosing energy-efficient lighting in your greenhouse or vertical farm. 

Before we get started, let’s set some ground rules for this article. 

1. I want to believe that everyone wants to do what’s right for the planet as long as they think their business can afford it, so we will not focus on energy efficiency and its impact on sustainability. 

2. In this article I will not post the name of suppliers or the price of the lights. The price of the light will definitely impact people’s decisions and will vary widely based on the volume of lights being purchased and the supplier providing it. 

3. This article is not about light quality or light spectrum. To look for information on spectrum please read this article: Why I Still Believe in Red/Blue LED Grow Lights

4. This article is written with commercial greenhouse produce growers in mind, but we do include a model which shows high output led grow lights running for long hours per day which could imply a greenhouse cannabis crop. 

5. We are fully aware that when you change the amount of energy going into the light as well as the type of electric light (HPS vs LED) one is using, it will have an impact on the climate in the growing/production area. Factors like heat and relative humidity would need to be taken into consideration if one was taking a holistic approach to energy savings on the farm. 

6. All lights have different output (measured in PPF.) In this article we are going to make the assumption that a grower is using the same amount of fixtures per acre regardless of output. For simplicity we are also going to assume that the grower is running the lights for the same amount of time. We are fully aware that this will have an impact on the potential yield of the crop. 

7. All greenhouses can require a different amount of lights per acre to achieve the target light intensities. I am using an average of the amount of lights per acre. Height of the greenhouse, width of the bays, placement of walkways, crop layout, crop density, as well as many other variables will impact the exact number of lights per acre. 

__________

There is a growing amount of discussion around the environmental sustainability of a greenhouse or a vertical farm. Much of this discussion is being driven by two or three big energy hogs inside these production facilities. This includes the grow lights and climate management equipment like heaters and cooling units. 

We all know that LED grow lights are more efficient than the older HPS lights that growers have used for decades, but do we know just exactly how to measure that? And do we understand how that will have a direct impact on not only energy savings but the operational cost at the farm? For those growing in a greenhouse, understanding these numbers during dark winter months can have a huge impact on electricity bills.

3 FOCUS POINTS 

1. Start by understanding the amount of light you need.
Urban Ag News recommends going to websites like Suntracker or the ESRI DLI maps site. These websites allow anyone to determine the historical DLI monthly averages for their individual locations. For this example I am going to use the area where my grandparents farm is located in southwestern Michigan. As one can see this is an area of the United States that has very dark winters. 

2. Work with a trusted advisor or extension specialist to determine the amount of hours your crop needs to grow consistently year round. Remember not all crops have the same light requirements and some crops have very specific photoperiods which can determine the amount of hours one can light their crops. Use all of this information to see when you will need supplemental light and how much light you will need to supplement with. 

For this example I am going to use 1 acre of greenhouse tomatoes in a glass greenhouse located in southwestern Michigan.

3. Now let’s calculate how much it’s going to cost you to run the grow lights for the estimated hours you and your advisor determined were needed per year to get the desired yields. 

• a) To provide a baseline, we started with traditional 1000w HPS lights which are highlighted in yellow.

• b) Then we chose six different LED grow light fixtures. Because the light spectrum has an impact on how efficiently the lights run, we chose three broad spectrum fixtures and three that are red and blue only.

• c) Since HPS is the baseline, the final column labeled “savings” shows how much the total savings per year one would achieve when replacing traditional HPS with the latest LED grow light technology.

• d) We made a few important assumptions in this example. First, the cost per kwh is around the USA national average of $0.09/kwh. Second, the same amount of grow lights would be used even though there would be some relative differences in umols/m2/s measurements for two of the samples. We decided not to change them because that would have an impact on uniformity (the even spread of the light over one’s entire crop) and associated capital cost not addressed in this article.

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IMPORTANT NOTES! 
It’s important to remember the 7 assumptions made at the beginning of this article and that lights are not equal. This chart only compares ppf (output) and w (watts). We elected to account for the difference in output by changing the amount of hours we estimated you would need to run the lights. Another way to look at this would be to remember the Golden Rule of Light in which 1% increase in light is equal to 1% increase in yield. 

Running these simple calculations will show you why you need to look at energy efficient lighting and in general the importance of researching energy efficient equipment in general. What these calculations do not show is the quality of some fixtures over others. Buyers must always be aware of the value of warranties, ease of returns, durability and quality of product plus accuracy of your vendor to create detailed information on the best way to use and install fixtures. We understand that this topic is intimidating for most, but this is a major purchase for your farm. Make sure to take the time to learn the math and do your homework before purchasing. 

Diving into these calculations will also highlight how much energy will be required to grow a wide variety of crops consistently with uniformed yields year round in climates with low light. Hopefully in articles to come we can discuss what this means for our environment and how we might develop additional ways to lower that ecological footprint. 

For help in calculating the energy efficiency of grow lights you are considering, please email us and we will connect you with professionals capable of helping you make an informed decision.

Chris Higgins is the founder of Urban Ag News, as well as General Manager and co-Owner of Hort Americas, LLC a wholesale supply company focused on all aspects of the horticultural industries. With over 20 years of commercial horticulture industry experience, Chris is dedicated to the horticulture and niche agriculture industries and is inspired by the current opportunities for continued innovation in the field of controlled environment agriculture. Message him here.

Tagged GreenhouseGreenhouse TechnologyIndoor Ag TechnologyTechnologyVertical Farming

Is All White Light the Same - Webinar

More and more LEDs are going from purple to white. Is there any difference among the countless white LED light options on the market, in addition to fluorescent? Cool white, warm white, full-spectrum white, fluorescent, white with UV and far red, etc. How to evaluate these choices? 

In this free webinar, we break down the differences among different types of white horticultural lighting. We will present the results of comparative plant trials we conducted using a variety of our own and other LED providers’ luminaires.

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Spectra appearing white to human eyes contain a variety of spectrum colors, including green. Humans can distinguish them in terms of their temperature (e.g. warm white and cool white) and CRI (color rendering index) which determines how realistic objects appear under them.

Plants however can have dramatically different reactions to light that appear nearly the same to us. The example here shows the difference in biomass accumulation from three light sources that look exactly the same!

This webinar is aimed at growers and researchers trying to understand which kind of light to illuminate their growth chambers, indoor farms, and greenhouse compartments with.

Register for the webinar here.

Contact Valoya sales here - sales@valoya.com 

About Valoya

Valoya is a provider of high-end, energy-efficient LED grow lights for use in crop science, vertical farming, and medicinal plant cultivation. Valoya LED grow lights have been developed using Valoya's proprietary LED technology and extensive plant photobiology research. Valoya's customer base includes numerous vertical farms, greenhouses, and research institutions all over the world (including 8 out of 10 world’s largest agricultural companies).

Additional information:

Valoya Ltd, Finland

Tel: +358 10 2350300

Email: sales@valoya.com

Web: www.valoya.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/valoyafi/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/valoya

GE Current Expands Horticulture Distribution Network To Support Indoor Growers Across Eurasia

GE Current, a Daintree company, has signed three new distribution partnership agreements with Agro Top Garden, Helle-Tech Oy, and Vitro HTS to make its full Lucalox HPS and Arize LED portfolio available to more greenhouse growers across Europe and Asia. The deals inked will provide growers focusing on horticulture, floriculture, and the burgeoning medicinal cannabis market, with easier access to leading lighting technologies, whether they rely on traditional HPS or are looking to transition over to low-energy LEDs to meet net-zero carbon goals.

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Malcolm Yare, Business Development Manager for Horticulture at Current, commented, “There are all sorts of variables that combine to create the most productive greenhouse environment, from location and surrounding geography, to weather patterns and the type of crop grown. We want to ensure that greenhouse growers have access to the perfect lighting for their unique set-up. By expanding our network of distribution partners, we can ensure that growers receive expert, localised advice and support to ensure that they get the right Current system to maximise their yields and grow their businesses.”

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Agro Top Garden is now the exclusive European distributor of Current’s Lucalox HPS lighting to the medicinal plant market, as well as being a master distributor of the company’s Arize LED portfolio. With a depth of broad horticultural experience, Agro Top Garden advises customers on the best growing media and fertilisers for their flowering plants. Now, with Current’s broad portfolio at its disposal, the company will also be able to advise cannabis growers on the most appropriate, low-energy lighting technology to nurture high-quality, abundant harvests every time.

Based in Finland, Helle-Tech Oy provides a range of greenhouse products, up to complete turn-key installations. With more than 30 years’ team experienced in building greenhouses all over Europe and Russia, Helle-Tech Oy partners with its customers throughout every stage of planning and installation, followed by close support and counsel, in order to maximize the potential of each greenhouse. With more growers looking to reduce their energy bills and carbon footprint, Helle-Tech Oy is expecting to guide many more customers through the transition from HPS to LED lighting in 2021, working with Current’s lighting experts to maintain yields and income throughout the process.

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Vitro HTS is based at the heart of Eurasia, in Antalya, Turkey, and is focused on supporting growers across Turkey, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. With new investments in horticulture and floriculture across the region, Vitro HTS is ideally positioned to support new market entrants and existing growers with Current’s state-of-the-art lighting systems that reduce energy consumption and costs, whilst boosting revenue.

Current’s Lucalox and Arize lighting solutions are available now. Customers can contact their local distribution partner for more information and advice on the best Current solution for their individual greenhouse set-up.

For more information:
www.gecurrent.com
agrotopgarden.de
www.helle-tech.fi
www.vitrohts.com 

1 Dec 2020

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The 5 Best LED Grow Lights To Use For Indoor Plants And Greenhouse Growing

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The best grow lights allow us to garden indoors and in our greenhouses throughout the year. Grow lights mimic natural sunlight and utilize the correct color spectrum to encourage photosynthesis to help plants grow indoors. LED grow lights are energy-efficient, long-lasting, and have the full light spectrum, and we’ll cover the best LED grow lights in this article for indoor and greenhouse growing. This article will cover the best grow lights to use for indoor and greenhouse growing.

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1. Kind LED Grow Light K5 Series This is one the best LED grow lights for indoor plants because of its grow light spectrum. This provides plants with a wide range of lights to optimize their growth and lets you grow all kinds of crops year-round. You can use these LED lights for hydroponic and indoor growing.

1. MD Lighting LED Grow Light This LED lighting system is set up like a lamp and allows for LED replacement bulbs for long-lasting use. It uses the right wavelengths to help encourage and promote plant growth. The grow light is easy to adjust and move to ensure all parts of the plant are receiving an equal amount of sunlight. It’s energy-efficient and saves money on electric bills.

2. Phlizon 1200W LED Grow Light The Philzon 1200W is one of the best LED grow lights for indoor plants and greenhouse growing. This grow light system doesn’t use a reflector in order to reduce heat emissions for plant protection. It’s known for generating less heat, being energy efficient, which is a cost-effective solution for electric bills. There are two light switches: VEG (blue and white LED light) which is used to promote young vegetative growth, and BLOOM (red and white LED) to promote flowering and blooming in the plants. The full spectrum of light can be found in this grow light to ensure your plants get the necessary nutrients.

3. HAUS Bright LED Grow Light Bulb These bright LED growing light bulbs provide a full spectrum of light that will help you grow your plants indoors all year round. It’s easy to install since it’s a light bulb and you can hang it anywhere! Only 20w of power is used, but it still produces 1200 lumens to keep your plants healthy.

4. Aceple Small LED Grow Light This LED grow light is perfect for small plants like succulents or potted plants. This Aceple grow light is one of the best LED grow lights for indoor plants and you can set it up at your office or wherever you may have a small assortment of plants. It provides red and blue lighting, which is essential for healthy leaves and blooming.

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Want to learn more about the best LED grow lights for indoor plants and greenhouse gardening? Join our microgreens class to learn the basics about everything there is to know about microgreen and indoor growing. If you can’t sign up for our class, subscribe to our weekly blog and Youtube channel for weekly updates!

#bestledgrowlightsforindoorplants #bestgrowlight #indoorgrowlight #growinglight #growlight #bestgrowlights

Increasing Lettuce Leaves' Fresh Weight by Light Treatments

While red light is widely considered the visible spectral region with higher effects on photosynthesis, the amount of blue required for different species is an ongoing question. Italian researchers dove into the matter and trialed three spectra to see what the effects would be on the crop and what the potential is for growing vegetables at your house. 

By Mattia Accorsi PhD (1); Federico Carotenuto PhD (2)

1) Biologist2) Researcher CNR IBIMET Florence

Light-spectrum manipulation

The research deepen the enhancement of the nutraceutical components in indoor primary production through only the light-spectrum manipulation. To achieve the experimental results was built, in collaboration with the Department of Agronomical Sciences (University of Bologna), an integrated and automated indoor prototypal growing system. In the prototype different state-of-the-art LED lighting lamps prepared ad hoc by C-LED (www.c-led.it) are compared in order to pinpoint the best spectral characteristics for food production as well as the most energy-efficient solution.

Material and methods: Sampling Location, hydroponic system, and plant material

Indoor growing system was divided into three sectors separated by a non-reflective opaque membrane. Each sector held two draining trays with 8 pots each containing a 50:50 perlite-vermiculite growing medium. The automated irrigation system dispensed 30” of irrigation each three hours from 6:00 to 22:00 (local time) and again at 2 am. A 200 liters tank, refilled weekly, was used as the water reservoir. To the irrigation water were added a series of nutrients. Room temperature was regulated at 18 ± 2 °C between 8 am and 20 pm, and at 16 ± 2°C between 20 pm and 8 am, by the building HVAC system. Each sector (i.e.: each of the three columns with three shelves each) had a specific light spectrum supplied by different LED lamps. Each shelf (i.e.: each row of the scaffolding) contained one of the three varieties of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.): var. Maravilla de Verano, var. Lollo Rosso, and var. Crispa. In this way, each variety was illuminated by the three different spectra, therefore generating nine combinations between variety and lightning.

Agronomical and morphological determination

Determinations on the number of leaves, LAI, and growth rate were conducted weekly for the entire duration of the plants’ growth since the transplanting (Zink and Yamaguchi, 1962). Plants’ biomass in fresh weight (FW) and dry weight (DW) production were analyzed at harvesting time. Values of electroconductivity (EC) and pH of water tank and drainage was checked three times per week with a conductometer model Basic 30 (Crison instrument, Barcelona, Spain). The content of nitrogen in the leaf tissues was measured weekly utilizing a Yara N-Tester (Oslo, Norway), taking thirty measurement per plant. Vegetables’ yield was related to the lamps’ energetic consumption in order to evaluate the energy use efficiency (EUE) and expressed as g kW-1.

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Figure: Morphology of three lettuce varieties (Meravilla de Verano, Crispa and Lollo Rosso), treated with three light spectra at 200 PPFD. Picture acquired at harvesting time (30 DAT). Effects on color intensity (green index) and pigment composition will be deepen in next article.

Biochemical determination

At harvesting time, 30 days after transplanting, a portion of leaf tissues of different theses were collected and stored in polyethylene bags at -20°C until processed. Extraction and quantification of total phenolic and flavonoid contents was conducted as described in Piovene et al. (2014). Antioxidant capacity was determined with the 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method as described by Floegel et al. (2011), in order to evaluate the additive and synergistic effects of all antioxidants rather than the effects of single compounds (Brighenti et al., 2005; Puchau et al., 2009).

In all lettuce varieties, leaves’ fresh weight was significantly increased by light treatments. Thesis A (110±34g) and C (112±42g) determined a better production in respect to B (90±34g) as shown in figure. Between three lettuce varieties, at 30 days after transplanting (DAT), Meravilla de Verano showed the highest fresh biomass production with 135±28 grams per plant while Crispa and Lollo Rosso varieties had a production of 104±31g and 72±25g respectively. Dry: Fresh biomass ratio (DFr) revealed opposite trend with respect to total fresh food production: treatment B showed higher DFr with values of 1.34±0.15. These values were significantly different in respect to A (1.25±0.12 ) and C (1.10±0.98).

Discussion: Light characteristics and physiological implications

An increasing interest in indoor growing within the urban area is reflected in a multiplication of commercial solutions making use of soilless systems and precision agriculture techniques (Massa et al., 2008; Poulet et al., 2014; Specht et al., 2014). Differently to artificial lighting technologies such as HPS and fluorescent lamps, LED lighting allows a concrete energy saving and to choose the light spectrum for specific purposes (Ilieva et al., 2010). Continuous advancements in LED technology, allow in-depth research on physiology and biochemistry of plants, two-sector of botany strictly correlated with the quality and quantity of the incident light (Horton, 2000; Poulet et al., 2014).

While red light is widely considered the visible spectral region with higher effects on photosynthesis, the amount of blue required for different species is an ongoing question. Red wavelengths (600-700nm) contain the peak absorption of chlorophyll around 660nm (Massa, 2008). Photosystem I (PSI) and photosystem II (PSII) intercept photons respectively around 650nm (PSII) and 700nm (PSI) (Schopfer and Brennicke, 2010). Blue wavelengths (400-500nm) revealed a variety of important morphological (Blaaw and Blaauw-Jansen, 1970; Cosgrove, 1981), and physiological (Schwartz and Zeiger, 1984; Kinoshita et al., 2001; Horrer 2016; Wang et al., 2016) effects.

In this project, all three light spectra integrate a low percentage (8-19%) of green light. These wavelengths were added to continue the work of Piovene (2015) that identified a specific combination of BRr and green for stimulation of biomass production and nutraceutical characteristics. Other works in literature in mentioned green wavelengths for positive effects towards functional compounds content (Samuolienė et al., 2012) and physiological response to photosynthetic light (Kim et al., 2005; Johkan et al., 2012).

How light spectra influenced food production

This study did not identify the correlation between the percentage of green light and biomass production or nutraceutical characteristics (statistical data not shown) contrary to what stated by the work of Kim et al. (2005) who found positive influence in biomass production with the addition of 24% of green light. Anyway, green light, especially if added to the only red and blue LED, completes the visible spectrum and hence helped in the aesthetic presentation of the plants which appeared less purplish-gray and more natural. Therefore, the latter effect of green light within a growing spectrum, would help in better fitting the plant in the indoor living environment for human purposes and ease the identification of disease onset (Massa et al., 2008).

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Figure: Study of LED C-LED lamps in collaboration with an italian university. Range of PAR, UV and Far-red are deeply analizyed in product prototyping process.

The food production has shown significant differences between lettuce varieties and light spectra. Taking into consideration only the lettuce varieties, Meravilla de Verano showed the best yield in respect to Crispa and Lollo Rosso. Light spectra, on the other hand, confirmed that the optimal ratio between red and blue has great relevance in influencing crop yield. While a certain quantity of blue light is necessary for a proper physiological balance (Yoro et al., 2001), this study showed that lower BRr has a positive influence on food productivity across lettuce varieties in accordance with previous researches (Wang et al., 2016). In general, it seems that the optimal BRr is somewhat species-specific since, for example, leafy aromatic vegetables showed better biomass production with a higher percentage of blue wavelengths (Piovene et al., 2015; Abiusi et al., 2013). On the other hand, strawberry showed an improvement of vegetative growth when the red percentage was higher than blue, although compensated by a background white light (Samuoliené et al., 2010)

In fact, many researches points out how plants require a complex spectrum that may include green: this parameter increase the difficulty to choose the “correct” light recipe, considering a number of factors such as specific species-varieties- phonological stage requirements (Wang et al., 2016; Kim et al., 2005). 

Nutraceutical implications

Different studies described how BRr influences nutraceutical properties in vegetables grown in indoor condition (Bantis et al., 2015; Piovene et al., 2015). Correlation between polyphenols and flavonoids content with antioxidant capacities has been documented (Dudonne´ et al., 2009; Samaniego Sanchez et al., 2007; Puchau et al., 2009). Polyphenols have an important antioxidant capacity determined by their ability to act as radical scavengers (Carter et al., 2006; Fardet, 2010). In nature, polyphenols are generally accumulated in plant tissues as response to external factors (Loaiza-Velarde et al., 1997). In indoor controlled growing system water, nutrition and microclimate are generally optimized: a particular light spectrum may therefore improve nutraceutical properties through photochemical induction and may, therefore, have a dramatic importance for human nutrition.

The three-light theses tested in this project revealed significant effects on the functional compounds such as phenolics and flavonoids, as well as the antioxidant activity. These data confirm previous works conducted with LED light manipulation (Piovene et at., 2015). In this work, antioxidant activity showed), an attitude of blue light to improve the antioxidant properties of lettuce (Figure 8) with a good correlation coefficient (R2=0.776). This is in accordance with previous researches that correlated the amount of flavonoids and antioxidant activity with blue light stimulation (Ebisawa et al., 2008; Kojima et al., 2010; Ouzounis et al., 2016). Blue light revealed also to be effective in increasing chlorogenic acid (Awada et al., 2001), that has higher antioxidant activity than carotenoids and tocopherols (Rice-Evans et al., 1997).

Fresh food possesses significant amounts of antioxidant and, due to its regular consumption, highly contributes in providing dietary antiradical protection (Deng et al., 2013; Harasym and Oledzki, 2014). Generally, fresh fruits have higher level of total polyphenols, total flavonoids and antioxidant capacity than vegetables (Chun et al., 2005) but, due to the higher consumption of vegetable the antioxidant uptake may be much lower. In epidemiologic studies (Chun et al., 2005) the daily nutraceutical uptake may be estimated at 129mg for TPC and 17mg for TFC.

The indoor experimental structure tested in this study guaranteed a certain TPC and TFC production. Considering the average consumption of 0.27 Kg d-1 person-1 (Leclercq et al., 2009; USP-BO 2013) is possible assert that indoor soilless system lighted with all LED spectrum allowed an average uptake of 6% of TPC and 6.2% of TFC.

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Figure: Fresh weight of yield (g plant-1) correlated with Blue:Red ratio highlighted with empty circles (○); Antioxidant activity (DPPH) correlated with Blue:Red ratio highlighted with full circles (●).

Read more on the indoor food production sustainability and the conclusion of the research here. 

Lead photo: Figure: Experimental vertical farming system realized in C-LED headquarters. Lettuce varieties at 30 DAT (harvesting time). From right to left: spectra thesis A, B and C. From top to bottom lettuce varieties: Lollo Rosso, Meravilla de Verano and Crispa

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27 Oct 2020

Signify’s LED Lighting Helps GoodLeaf Farms To Increase Food Production All Year Round

October 15, 2020

Eindhoven, The Netherlands – GoodLeaf Community Farms in Canada selected Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, to equip its new state-of-the-art farm with Philips Horticulture LED lighting and increase its food production, enhance flavor and improve nutritional value. As a branded producer, GoodLeaf grows and packs fresh, nutritious, and pesticide-free micro and baby greens year-round. The company operates a 4,000-square-metre indoor vertical farm in Guelph, Ontario, which is now fully operational to supply some of the largest Canadian retail chains. GoodLeaf is backed by McCain Foods as its strategic investor.

The vertical farm is fully automated and equipped with the latest LED lighting technology for growing indoors. The energy-efficient Philips Greenpower LED production modules enable GoodLeaf to shorten production cycles. As it provides a controlled environment it also allows GoodLeaf to produce all year round without any lighting, temperature, and pesticide worries and reducing waste at the same time.

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GoodLeaf Farms started working with Philips products in 2013 at the company’s test facility in Truro, Nova Scotia. “Signify has been very advantageous to GoodLeaf. We’ve worked with many vendors and Signify would stand out as one of the most collaborative, if not one of the best partners we’ve had through this project. We will work with them on a go-forward basis and very much look forward to that,” said Jeff McKinnon, Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of GoodLeaf Community Farms and TruLeaf Sustainable Agriculture.

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Signify has built up a substantial track record in more than 400 projects in the horticultural lighting market since 1995, developing ways to apply lighting technology to crop farming. With cutting-edge LED innovations, the company can custom-build a science-based solution for growers providing data and plant expertise to optimize yields.

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This expertise is built on close collaborations with Signify’s horticulture partners and through research at its own vertical farming research facilities in Eindhoven, called GrowWise Center. Vertical farming, or city farming, means that plants can be grown indoors in a controlled environment without sunlight. This is ideal for propagating young plants, cultivating full head crops, and growing healthier, pesticide-free crops. It maximizes production by using LEDs to light multiple layers of crops, achieving a higher yield with a smaller footprint.

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“The support from Signify and the folks from GrowWise Center is phenomenal. We meet with them monthly. The data they collect covers the data we collect as well, so sharing that knowledge has been excellent, and the service over their Philips’ products has been exceptional,” said McKinnon.
For more information about this project at GoodLeaf, you can watch the video here.

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For further information, please contact:

Global Marcom Manager Horticulture at Signify

Daniela Damoiseaux

Tel: +31 6 31 65 29 69

E-mail: daniela.damoiseaux@signify.com

www.philips.com/horti

Signify Global Media relations - Professional Lighting

Wendy Schellens

Tel: +31 6 51 863 401

Email: wendy.schellens@signify.com

About Signify

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value, and transform life in homes, buildings, and public spaces. With 2019 sales of EUR 6.2 billion, we have approximately 36,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We have been named Industry Leader in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for three years in a row. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.

GE Current Donates Horticulture Lighting Fixtures To The Ohio State University

GE Current, a Daintree company has gifted 272 horticultural lighting fixtures to The Ohio State University to benefit the university’s College of Food, Agricultural, and Environmental Sciences.

The Arize Element L1000 LED fixtures will illuminate a state-of-the-art greenhouse being built within the new Controlled Environment Food Production Research Complex. The greenhouse was made possible with funding from Nationwide Insurance, as well as support from other Ohio-based companies.

“We are excited to be deepening our relationship with OSU,” said Melissa Wesorick, Chief Product and Strategy Officer at Current. “This is a great opportunity to strengthen our ties with this historic institution and the Ohio community, as well as inspire and empower the next generation of growers.”

With construction slated to begin in 2021, the production greenhouse will provide hands-on training opportunities for students to learn how to grow various crops in a greenhouse setting. The multiple tailored light spectrums offered by the Arize Element L1000 opens the door for unique research and scientific exploration into crop production and plant growth, as well as expand upon the understanding of how LEDs can further that growth. The facility will also serve as the location for future grower conferences and workshops.

“Lighting is a key technology of controlled environment agriculture,” said Chieri Kubota, professor in Ohio State’s Department of Horticulture and Crop Science and lead researcher at the new greenhouse facility. “We are excited about potential research outcomes that will advance the science and technology of growing in these environments. We greatly appreciate Current’s generous and important gift to help make this happen.”

Kubota’s work encompasses plant physiology and horticulture engineering to enhance the understanding and efficiency of controlled environment agriculture production systems such as greenhouses, warehouses (vertical farms) and growth chambers.

For more information:
www.gecurrent.com 
cfaes.osu.edu

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Publication date: Thu 8 Oct 2020

Worldwide Horti Lighting Industry To 2030

21-09-2020 |    Cision PR Newswire

DUBLIN- The "Horticulture Lighting Market Research Report: By Type, Technology, Cultivation, Application - Global Industry Analysis and Growth Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The worldwide population is expected to increase to 8.5 billion by 2030, from 7.7 billion in 2019, as per the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA). Additionally, the disposable income of people is also rising, and the two factors are together resulting in a growing demand for food products.

To increase the yield, by making the best use of the available land, several countries are developing indoor farming techniques. Thus, with the population boom, the revenue generated in the global horticulture lighting market is expected to rise from $3.2 billion in 2019 to $20.3 billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 18.1% during 2020-2030 (forecast period).

Light-Emitting Diode (LED) to Dominate Market during Forecast Period

Till 2030, LED would continue holding the largest revenue share in the horticulture lighting market, as this technology is quite cost-effective and lets farmers control the light intensity to suit different plants and crops. These factors are resulting in a high adoption of LED lights in greenhouse and indoor agricultural processes.

During the forecast period, the flowers bifurcation is expected to witness significant horticulture lighting market growth, as the demand for flower buds and cut flowers for decorative purposes is surging. From 2017, the exports of such products rose by 2.5%, to garner $6.6 billion in revenue in 2018, as per Trade Map. Currently, Europe's flower exports account for the highest revenue, followed by Latin America (LATAM), Asia-Pacific (APAC), Middle East and Africa (MEA), and North America.

In 2019, top lighting dominated the horticulture lighting market, as this type of lighting is vastly used for vertical farming, wherein the lights are placed close to the plants. Similarly, in indoor farming, the lamps and bulbs are suspended for the ceiling, because it creates optimum conditions for the growth of plants.

In the coming years, the fastest growth in the horticulture lighting market is projected to be experienced by the indoor/vertical farming division. The rapid increase in population and urbanization rate is leading to the shrinking of cultivable land, which is forcing the agrarian community to adopt indoor farming methods. Additionally, farmers are being offered financial support, to install vertical farms, by companies such as Toshiba Corporation and Panasonic Corporation.

Europe was the largest horticulture lighting market during the historical period (2014-2019). This is because it is the largest exporter as well as producer of fruits, flowers, and vegetables around the world. During the forecast period, the highest CAGR, of 21.1%, would be experienced in Asia-Pacific, owing to its increasing disposable income and population. Further, as a result, the reducing arable area, numerous countries in the region are looking at modern farming techniques, such as indoor horticulture, greenhouse, and vertical farming.

Market Players Strongly Pursuing Client Wins to Better their Position

In the recent years, several players in the horticulture lighting market have successfully pursued client wins to increase their sales and strengthen their position in the industry. For instance, a Canadian licensed producer of recreational and medicinal marijuana selected LumiGrow Inc. as its LED lighting partner in May 2019, for its six-acre cannabis greenhouse expansion project.

Similarly, in October 2019, Heliospectra AB received a $7.46 million (SEK 72 million) order for its MITRA LED lights from Nectar Farms in Victoria, Australia. The lights will be installed at a tomato-based glasshouse at Nectar Farms.

The competition in the global horticulture lighting market is primarily among Cree Inc., Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Lumileds Holding B.V., EPISTAR Corporation, Everlight Electronics Co. Ltd., Osram Licht AG, Broadcom Inc., Signify N.V., Illumitex Inc., Hubbell Incorporated, Hortilux Schrder B.V., LumiGrow Inc., General Electric Company, and Heliospectra AB, as they are the largest companies in the domain.

Click here for more information. 

Media Contact:

Research and Markets
Laura Wood, Senior Manager
press@researchandmarkets.com

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SOURCE Research and Markets

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PODCAST: Kyle Barnett and Rob Spivock Talk Ag Tech

In this two-part episode of the CropTalk series, #KyleTalksAgTech, Kyle Barnett speaks with Robert Spivock, Director of Technology at GE Current about what makes an LED horticulture light truly reliable, using cars as a reference point for the listeners.

Listen to the podcast here. 

"After Summing Up All Production Costs, The Plants Cost Less Than 0.25$, Which is 2% of The Total Sum of Normal Farmers"

Cost-Effective Growing

We’re working with high efficiency LED lights and cooling systems, which basically are our only costs. Therefore, our produce is way cheaper than with traditional farming. ”After summing up all production costs, the plants cost less than 0.25$, which is 2% of the total sum of normal farmers”, Tony English, Founder and Visionary of FarmBox Foods says. If a grower spends 2 cents more per plant, they can deliver organic produce with FarmBox Foods growing containers. The seeding process starts in organic fiber where organic nutrients are used. Next to that you can use filtered water and cultivation without pests. But it’s all up to the grower what plants they choose.”

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The seedling table

Self-Sanitizing Farm

The growing process is fully automated, except for harvesting. “We purposely chose moveable walls, so when our containers are installed, people with disabilities can participate during projects.” The company uses peat moss plugs for the seedling table, alongside an ebb and flow system. “When the plants are two inches high, they’re transferred to the grow walls. When one batch is harvested, a new one goes in immediately to maintain a constant production cycle,” English adds. These containers are maintenance-friendly and self-sanitizing. The grow towers are cleaned with ozone, a bacteria and disease killing gas. “It works better than bleach or other commonly used sanitizing agents.” When watering the plants, ozone is added into the nutrient solution, allowing the grow walls to clean themselves.

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The moveable grow walls

New Designs

The system development took about a year to complete; during this time, FarmBox Foods designed a grow tube which solved all the problems that they came across during the R&D phase. The team is currently testing and researching new crops and designs. The R&D prototype has been sold and is now in use in Georgia. “We build our containers one at a time, and when we think of doing something better, we apply it. For now, we have three containers placed, but we’re looking into manufacturers around the States to speed up the production process.”

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The Self-Sanitizing Farm

“We were actually going to build containers for homeless people for the major US cities, as there’s a big shortage of fresh produce, especially for those who won’t have access to them. We bought land and designed a hydro system. When they told us it would take up to 5 years before they would even look at our proposal. It would have been insane to wait for that approval. Well, we had a great hydro system thus why not move them inside a shipping container that we can provide to homeless shelters, churches, and anyone who could grow food for the people who need it the most?” The start-up supplies fully-automated containers for vegetable farming in the US.

Increasing Demand

FarmBox noticed an increasing demand as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. They now have a major hospital chain buying their farms. “We have a system suitable for schools, and at first we were donating them to schools. We are not going to do that anymore as we’re too busy with fulfilling the demand for our containers farms.”

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For more information:
FarmBox Foods Tony English, CEO and Founder
tony@farmboxfoods.com 
www.farmboxfoods.com 

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Publication date: Tue 16 Jun 2020
Author: Rebekka Boekhout
© HortiDaily.com

Indoor Ag Science Cafe - Tuesday, June 16th - 11 AM EST

June Indoor Science Cafe

Please sign up!

Tuesday, June 16th, 11:00 AM EDT

Selecting An LED Fixture For Indoor Plant Production

Presented by

Dr. Erik Runkle
(Michigan State University)

• Please sign up so that you will receive Zoom link info.

• Indoor Ag Science Cafe is an open discussion forum, organized by Chieri Kubota (OSU), Erik Runkle (MSU), and Cary Mitchell (Purdue U.) supported by USDA SCRI grants.

Sign up for June 16 Cafe

VIDEO: Vertical Farming: The Only Way Is Up

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by Jasmine Reimer

Trends - /March 2, 2020

Just like we've grown accustomed to living in compartments stacked directly on top and beside each other so too are lettuce and herbs.

Agriculture is going vertical. Why? Because it saves water, increases efficiency, and provides us with fresh, local produce.

Vertical farming is the practice of producing food on upright surfaces. Instead of farming in a field, vertical farming grows plants stacked in layers, in structures like shipping containers or warehouses.

If this seems like an insignificant shift, unlikely to produce much effect, consider this: by 2050 the world's population is expected to grow by another 2 billion people.

Feeding everyone will be challenging. Vertical farming could be a solution.

What is vertical farming?

Assembled layer by layer under candy-colored lights, vertical farming has become an increasingly popular way for food producers to reduce costs related to space and energy consumption while increasing growth rates and nutrient values.

Of the many companies that are testing out this innovative farming method, Urban Crops uses a conveyor-like system to hold baby plants under LED ultraviolet lights. Their system is automated and relies on technology to program lighting and growing conditions specific to each species. And because they don't heat up, the bulbs can be placed closer to the leaves to encourage optimal light absorption.

In addition to not having to maintain an entire plot of land, Urban Crops boasts that vertical farming yields more crops per square meter than traditional farming or greenhouses. It also grows plants faster and can be used year-round. In theory, vertical farming can be practiced anywhere, which means that water-restricted locations can still harvest produce. Vertical farming uses up to 95% less water than traditional methods.

As Urban Crops' Chief Executive Maartin Vandecruys points out:

“Basically… every day is a summer's day without a cloud in the sky."

CES 2020: LG are launching exciting new indoor gardening technology.

While vertical farming could be the future of large-scale agriculture, companies like Urban Crops are also hoping that non-farming folk like yourself will be interested in investing in DIY versions. Because, while it makes sense to grow salad greens and edible flowers, trying to grow other foods like wheat for bread isn't yet an option: “At 10 cents a kilowatt-hour, the amount of energy it would take to produce wheat would [translate to] something like $11 for a loaf of bread," states, Vandecruys. Nonetheless, vertical farming could mean big changes in the way you think about “local" produce.

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Vertical farming helps reduce the amount of questions for the consumer including its provenance, growing conditions and harvest date.

Data is useless unless you put it to work

Around the world, data-driven technologies are being used to keep indoor farming afloat. Detailed, real-time data collected via artificial intelligence, location services and IoT technology is used to analyze and produce better feeding models and optimal configurations, i.e. the concentration and scheduling of light and ratio of nutrients. Most recent is IoT company n.thing's Planty Cube, launched at this year's CES 2020.

Leo Kim, n.thing's CEO, came up with the idea for Planty Cube after creating an IoT-enabled smart pot called “Planty Square."

Planty Cube is a smart hydroponic vertical farm that relies on data from farming logs, which are fed back into a database called the “Cube Cloud" and analyzed with AI to help farmers determine optimal growing conditions. As the user adds more Planty Cubes to the vertical farm, this real-time, cloud-based system makes it easier for the grower to manage the overall farm, even remotely.

But even prior to sowing seeds, technology can help vertical farmers and consumers alike.

Automation, tracking and AI technology also opens up the potential to locate farms in urban, industrial, and even domestic spaces that can produce crops all year round.

This has the possibility to truly change the way cities source food. Most urban supermarkets are supplied from distributors around the world. Local indoor farms could decrease reliance on imports and reduce carbon emissions from transportation.

In the future, I hope to see supermarkets filled with vertical farms of their own.

Oh, it's already happening.

The ups and downs of growing up

The vertical farming industry is booming. However, there are realities to consider before growing on a professional scale:

What are you growing and for whom?

Before you invest, do some market research. Get a sense of who your customers will be and your price point. Basically, if you can't sell it, you shouldn't grow it.

What is your distribution plan?

How will you physically get your produce to your customers? Find out who your end customers are and keep your farm as close to them as possible. Being local is an integral component to your success but this may present further challenges such as high cost of land, poor soil quality, and resource restrictions.

Will your building meet your needs?

Remember, indoor farming requires substantial amounts of power: lighting, pumps, HVAC, automation equipment, fans, computers etc. Not all buildings are equipped with the type of electricity you require. And if you're serious about getting into the vertical farming industry, you need to plan for future expansions.

Fortunately, vertical farming is being supported by more than just salad-starved individuals like me; location services and tracking technology are helping farmers retain high yields and prepare for the future.

Vertical Farming Is The Future of The Agriculture Industry

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26 May 2020

By: Garsha Sai Nitesh

World population is said to grow by another 2 billion by the year 2050, feeding humans adequately will become a huge challenge until then. Due to rising industrialization and urbanization, humans are clearing arable land and forests. According to scientists, our planet lost a third of its arable land in just 40 years. Many believe that Vertical farming is the solution for sustainable living soon. 

As countries are getting rich demand for food is increasing which is pressuring the planet for more cultivation and aggressive use of resources. Due to globalization and the growing population, it is not clear how much more of arable land we will lose. Developed countries are now investing in Vertical farming heavily. 

 What is Vertical Farming? 

 Vertical farming is a simple practice of producing food crops on vertically inclined surfaces, unlike the traditional farming method of single-level like in fields or greenhouses. In this method, food is produced in vertically stacked layers which are integrated into structures like skyscraper or shipping containers. 

Using Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA) technology, vertical farming uses indoor farming techniques. This indoor technique uses artificial control of temperature, light, gases, and humidity for food. This farming is mainly used to maximize crop output in a limited area. 

This farming has four important parts 1) Physical layout 2) Lighting 3) Growing Medium and 4) Sustainability Features. 

At first, the crops are cultivated in a stacked-layer in a tower-like structure. Then a combination of natural and artificial lights is used to maintain the perfect light in the room, technologies such as rotating beds are often used to improve light efficiency.

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Thirdly, in place of soil aeroponic, aquaponic or hydroponic are used as growing mediums, coconut husks and other non-soil mediums are often used. Finally, various sustainability features to reduce the energy costs of farming is used. Vertical farming use water at a minimal level. 

Developed countries like Singapore, Hong Kong who depend on imports for food products are now investing in Vertical Farming. Sky Greens, first commercial vertical farm and worlds first low carbon vertical farm. This farm produces up to 1,000 kg of vegetables a day. Next year it will reach its full capacity then it can produce 5,000 to 10,00 kg a day.

In Hong Kong, a Vertical farming venture called Farm66 uses modern LED lights and aquaponics in a fully air-conditioned vertical farm of size 20,000 sq ft. This farm produces four tons of lettuce, endive, and cabbage very month.

In the next two decades, 80 percent of people live in urban cities, increasing the demand for food. Vertical farming offers a solution to such problems. One acre of indoor vertical farming equals 4-6 acres of outdoor farming. This farming use 75-95 percent less water compared to normal cultivation. As vertical farming is based on the technology of using proper lightning crops can be developed without pesticides. 

Related Links:

• How Vertical farming is the Solution for Modern-Age Agriculture