“ We ’re aiming to gain efficiency of production in the greenhouse , and we ’re count to have better yields and caliber of production , all while lowering the uptake of vitality , ” says Louis Golaz with RED Horticulture . " That make us much more than just a lighting manufacturer . " Together with fresh sale manager Jose Carretero , he explains why higher efficiency in luminaires is only part of the answer . “ More than the most efficient lights , you also need in high spirits efficiency in your lighting strategy . ”
Highest efficacyThe French company RED Horticulture is found in Lyon . The companyraised € 2.5 million last year , which will enable them to expand their reach among high - technical school greenhouse raiser around Europe . Their account is dissimilar , as Louis believes the lookup for the gamey efficacy in LED light might not be the true resolution for growers . “ You ’re looking for higher efficacies , but sometimes the ignition strategies you use are not ripe for the plant . That ’s why with RED , we ’re clothe a lot in photobiology . We want to read the fundamental interaction of sparkle with all living things in the greenhouse : not just the flora , but also pathogens , insects , beneficials , and the workforce . We require to be capable to give answers on how light strategies interact with the whole environment . ” That is why RED Horticulture combines LED lighting , unreal word , and software to verify lighting strategies in real - metre and optimize plant outgrowth .
Jose , who recently joined the company to set up a business in the Netherlands , explains how micromoles can seemingly make it gentle for agriculturalist to compare light-emitting diode merchandise . “ It bring insight to how much energy you put in and how much illumination is total out , but you ’re not look at the performance of the booster of this tale : is the works performing well with it ? . Besides , each crop has different needs depending on the clime , growing objective , and stage of development . ”
CounterintuitiveThe RED team has instruct that glasshouse lighting can be counterintuitive , something that becomes open when focusing on the performance of the flora and tracking the results . “ Up until now , we often utilise the same spectrum to different varieties and different crop in unlike climates , but that ’s a very narrow opinion , whereas the world is increasingly becoming a precision growing world . That ’s why , together with the agriculturist and the system we have in place , which is build up with Artificial Intelligence , we sample to retrieve the best manner to apply light and get the skillful performance from the plant life . ” To elucidate why this is not always the same , he explains how driving to Amsterdam can be most efficient via a certain highway on mean solar day A , but much faster via a different route on day B. “ The quickest road might not be the short one , which seems counterintuitive . That ’s why you use a path optimizer like Google Maps , based on AI . ” He add that if your goal is to apply the short itinerary , your output will be different . “ That ’s why you involve to have your finish goal in mind . ”
This is exactly what their trials with Delphy in the Netherlands also show . In a demonstration with cherry tomato variety Piccolo , the squad with RED Horticulture was capable to produce 13 % more cherry red tomatoes , with a 8 % higher brix value during the winter month . “ We used the same amount of luminance , but with a more optimized spectrum than the 95 % red 5 % blue spectrum . ”
In strawberries , too , the use of light strategies turn out to be more important than solely focus on the highest output for the downhearted Department of Energy utilization . “ Not using the most light , but using the right light can serve agriculturalist to gain 35 % additional production in only three weeks . The dispute is huge , and , especially in a winter cycle of hemangioma simplex growing , being in product at the right sentence is of lively importance : you’re able to make up to 40 % of your overturn if you do it right and practice your light to get down harvesting sooner . ” The right firing strategy enable growers to reduce the time between sowing and the first harvest time . “ In your first output prime , you ’re the only one on the market place , enable you to produce before anybody else does . ”
Focus on efficiency can set a grower back in growingIt is an example of how the nidus on efficiency can set a grower back in produce . “ That ’s one of the singular points of our arrangement , ” Jose says . “ How much should we habituate to deliver the goods how much ? The idea is to research all parts of sparkle : the higher proceeds , precocity , and architecture of the flora : anything that can land add value for the cultivator . ”
All the info is make up in Solstice , the tool they develop for the cultivator to realise the lighting aspect of their business , enabling them to pull in insights on and optimize its ignition scheme . Indeed , the team prefers to talk of a lighting strategy over a light formula . “ scheme are base upon the requisite of a agriculturist : What do you consume , how many plants do you have in the glasshouse , and what do you want to optimise ? If the electricity price go up , the finish might shift from bring out the most cucombers possible to producing optimized energy custom . All our tools are developed to enable these adjustments in mind . ”
Lighting hardwareAs a second part of the RED Horticulture offerings , there is the hardware : TAURUS luminaire is amply governable . “ Controllable also means scalable ” , Jose allege . “ When you buy a new luminaire or initiation , you grease one’s palms it for the next couple of years , but photobiology is a new skill , it advances every Clarence Shepard Day Jr. . We could n’t experience with the fact that we sold our customers something that would n’t acquire . You vest for ten years , so you must vest in something that enable you to bring in added value for the next 10 years . ”
It also lend extra flexibleness to a grower . “ If you change the kind that you ’re producing , or the grocery store change , you need a luminaire that can change as well . ”
So , let ’s circulate back to the cost part : The price of the solution depends on the amount of ignitor the craw will require , and therefore the telephone number of fastness recommend . “ If you want to play a solution to agriculturist that they can actually invest in and can rise with for the next ten age , you need to have a price degree in psyche that enables the growers to be competitive as well . At RED , we care to spill the beans in number of years to get a take on investment . For instance , for strawberries , we suggest a return on investment in 2.5/3 season . ” Louis simply says . “ A solution they can not afford is not sustainable in any way . ”
DemonstrationsRED Horticulture has been working on gamy telegram crop , sonant fruits , cannabis , micro algae , and seed breeding companies . “ Over the last years , we ’ve built up all-embracing knowledge on how plant react to light . In France , we ’re working with the big innovators in the industry . Our lights are installed in semi - closed greenhouses , by growers that want to make a change to the industry . Now we ’re sharing this knowledge with the Dutch sector , ” Louis says . This year , four demonstrations are realized : one in tomatoes , one in cucumbers ( the Autonomous Growing ) , and one in strawberry mark . The squad is also mould with Verify ( World Horti Center ) substantiate a demo on chrysanthemum . “ We ’ll be welcoming any grower that wants to see and discuss how lighting can bear upon their crop product . We ’ve see in the Piccolo trial that the figure can help the industry move forwards , not just by optimizing the lighting , but by optimise growing as a whole . ”
For more info : RED solutionsLouis Golaz[email protected]www.horticulture.red
© FloralDaily.com/Arlette Sijmonsma
