Grodan, known for its sustainable stone wool growing media solutions and Signify, a leader in lighting, are working together at Botany, the Netherlands, to further refine tomato cultivation strategy.

The trial, started in September 2023 will explore principles of low-energy growing under fully dimmable Philips LED lights. Focus will be on plant transpiration and nutrient uptake in a 260 m2 department fitted with active air de-humidification. This year's strategy is built on the knowledge gained from last year's successful tomato trial by Signify. By modelling the expected crop development and performance, both Grodan and Signify expect to reduce up to 40 per cent on heat input by dimming the lights based on crop needs, energy prices, and outside light conditions.

"Collaborating with the right partner can take research to new heights, and we at Signify are excited to collaborate in this journey with Grodan. After conducting successful trials over the lighting season 2022, in which we focused on light scheduling and -spectra, we realized more needed to be done to define how an LED-winter crop could be grown five years from now. This trial will serve as a showcase for the Benelux market,” said Erik Stappers, plant specialist vegetables & fruit at Signify. “The combination of two irrigation treatments and the application of active dehumidification will give lots of information on how plants perform and can be steered in these conditions. We know that this way is not common practice yet, but we see a clear need for more proof points and knowledge for our customers on how to reduce the heat-input in LED crops. Our goal is to save 40 per cent on heat-input compared to current practice.”

Source:  Grodan & Signify October 30, 2023 news release