LED: the New Fast-track to Growth: Recipe Development and Practical Applications in Horticulture - Part 2: North American Developments

The action spectrum of photosynthesis in plants is the ability of light of different wavelengths to support photosynthesis. Based on this fundamental process of plants, light sources were developed in the past mostly on efficiency (µmol/J). Now with LEDs we have next to energy savings many more opportunities to develop light recipes that are optimized to crop, geographical location and to grower’s business targets.  

Plant specialists from Philips are globally active to develop together with researchers and growers new insights and practical light recipes based on LEDs (sometimes together with traditional HPS). In these recipes the characteristics of LEDs like: choice of spectrum, intensity, lack of heat radiation, freedom of positioning and ease of switching are being balanced to reach the best result for the crop/grower.

Application of these LED recipes are versatile as we have realized the past years many projects globally for high wire crops like tomato and cucumber, tissue culture propagation labs, cut flower production and many others. But also new growing concepts are now becoming possible by using LED recipes: growing on commercial scale in controlled multilayer environments for city farming, using LED light to improve secondary metabolite production of pharmaceutical crops, enhance nutrient content or taste and influencing disease resistance with light.   

Plants being bio-dynamic in nature respond to many factors like temperature, Carbon dioxide concentration, humidity, nutrition management, media, growing technique and light. Working towards achieving a practical, complete and customized solution with emphasis on energy savings and quality of the product with the efficient use of LEDs is the new fast track to growth.

Part 1: Global examples LED recipes and development

Part 2: Northern American developments