In November 2012, Philips – in collaboration with Beyond, Riverflowers, Stolze and DLV Plant – started up two practical trials with chrysanthemums under LEDs. The trials are being conducted on locations at Beyond and Riverflowers. These trials are follow-ups to the trials that were completed in February 2012 at Botany in Horst. The trial was set up by Philips in order to gain insights for developing a new LED solution. Martijn Duijvesteijn of Beyond says: “Beyond stands for sustainable, top-quality Chrysanthemums, and Philips’ innovative hybrid lighting fits in with this.”

Het The purpose of the follow-up trials is to perform a translation into actual practice. The previous trials showed that quality can be improved and production increased when chrysanthemums are grown under LEDs. The hybrid light treatment, in which 50μmol/m2/sec of LEDs and 50μmol/m2/sec of SON-T were installed, increased growth efficiency (more grams of fresh weight per mole of light) by 6.6%.
 
During the trials at Beyond and River Flowers researchers will look at whether this can be achieved with different varieties and different light levels as well. From this basis further work will be done on finding an efficient light solution that contributes to the eventual light recipe. The trials will be completed in early February.

During the trials at Beyond and Riverflowers hybrid lighting has also been installed; LEDs will be used in combination with the existing installed HPS lighting. Several spectral treatments have been fitted in order to achieve the most sustainable solution.

Both Beyond and Riverflowers are looking forward to the results. Peter van de Werken of Riverflowers says: “By combining the existing HPS installation with Philips’ latest LED technologies we can optimize growth and therefore yield, but also control elongation and flowering. In this way a good ratio between (radiant) heat, light quantity and light spectrum gives opportunities for more sustainable production and for providing a more consistent and heavy quality of chrysanthemums throughout the year. And that’s exactly what our market is looking for.”

For more information, contact:
Danielle Smits - van Tuijl, Plant fysiologist
Philips Horticultural Lighting, Nederland
E-mail: Danielle.van.tuijl@philips.com
www.philips.com/horti