The four-month trial, managed by Maarten Klein, Plessey’s Head Agronomist, has been running since the end of November 2016 at Together2Grow, to assess the benefits of adding LED to existing HPS lighting compared to just using HPS lamps. The alstroemeria variety tested was Virginia and the existing HPS light intensity of 70 micromoles/s/m² was supplemented with an extra 60 micromoles/s/m² of Plessey LEDs to achieve an average of 130 micromoles/s/m².
By the end of the trial, a yield increase over 20% was achieved for the hybrid LED/HPS installation compared to the control area with HPS lighting alone. Under the LED/HPS lights, the average weight per stem also increased by 2 grams.
As a result of this successful trial, Bernard Zuidgeest, co-owner of Together2Grow, has decided to team up with Plessey to conduct further trials on other alstroemeria varieties with a view to rolling out LED across the business.
Adding Plessey LED light fixtures to existing HPS lighting systems in a hybrid installation allows growers to give greater light intensity to their crop, for longer periods, with little extra heat to manage in the greenhouse. The plants continue to get radiant heat from the HPS lights but also gain the advantage of light wavelengths unique to the LEDs being used, including far‑red, hyper‑red and blue spectrum light. Plessey’s LED fixtures are at least 40% more efficient in energy consumption than HPS fixtures.
For more information please click here http://www.plesseysemiconductors.com/plessey-partners-top-dutch-alstroemeria-grower-led-grow-lights-following-successful-trial/