Rechnia D. is a farm located in Góra Kalwaria. It is there that the handsome vegetables that decorate our tables during family breakfasts grow. The company grows greenhouse tomatoes, ensuring their quality and taste. Due to the high demand for tomatoes, the company decided to support their natural growth in order to obtain a greater yield.
Surface
3000 m2
Lighting enters newer and newer areas. Its role in the cultivation of plants has been known since the second half of the nineteenth century, and at that time it was possible to obtain sufficient data to confirm its actual effect on plant growth. Currently, plant lighting is widely used in the production of many vegetables and fruits. Thanks to the LED technology, it is possible to precisely select the spectrum of light, which in over 85% will be absorbed by the plant for its growth.
Plant lighting – benefits:
The research shows that the photosynthesis process is fastest when the photon density in the range of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is in the range of 400–1000 μE / (m2 x s). The critical value for most plants is the range of 40–50 µE / (m2 x s). When the photon density is lower than this value, the increase in dry matter disappears, because the rate of respiration is higher than that of photosynthesis. Plants stop growing, shed fruit and lose leaves.
What is micromole?
Plants, like us, need food to thrive. They obtain them through photosynthesis. The plant under the influence of the phenomenon produces sugars, which affect the growth of tomatoes only at night. For the proper process of photosynthesis, plants need light in the range of 80-100 μmol / J, which is provided by professional LED lighting. The research shows that the photosynthesis process is fastest when the density of photons in the range of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is in the range of 400–1000 μE (m2 x s). The critical value for most plants is the range of 40–50 µE / (m2 x s). When the photon density is lower than this value, the increase in dry matter disappears, because the rate of respiration is higher than that of photosynthesis. Plants stop growing, shed fruit and lose leaves.
What does the tomato market look like?
Growing greenhouse tomatoes in Poland is a profitable activity due to the large market for tomatoes in Poland and the interest in import from other EU countries. In our country, there is a great demand for traditional “Polish tomatoes” associated with high quality. The profitability of farms increases especially in early spring, when the prices of Polish tomatoes are 40% higher. And the prices of raspberry tomatoes in winter reach even 450% of the prices of tomatoes in summer. The tomato growing market is growing rapidly, but as with any type of business, there are threats to it.
One of them is the limited access to electricity in many parts of the country. Insufficient power makes it impossible to properly illuminate the tomatoes, which is necessary to maintain production throughout the year. Even if the access to energy is sufficient, it is associated with high electricity bills. In both cases, energy-saving LED lighting comes in handy, as it does not strain the electrical system as much as sodium lamps. Low power consumption while maintaining high quality of light results in low electricity bills.
As usual, we started the implementation with a local vision. The farm’s cultivated area was almost 3,000 km2, which involved the use of many lamps. However, we ran into two problems:
Lighting in hybrid mode is otherwise combined lighting using both HPS sodium lamps and LED plant lamps. It is most often associated with the necessity to reduce the costs of modernization of the installation. Lighting plants with LED lamps, despite many advantages and a decisive advantage over sodium lamps, is associated with a fairly high initial investment. Although the investment costs pay off only 34 months after its implementation, not every entrepreneur can decide to take such a step.
However, hybrid lighting gives satisfactory results. Tomato bushes develop a high density along with the development, so the light does not reach evenly. Therefore, greenhouses require two-stage lighting. In hybrid mode, plants receive 60% of the light “in advance” from the sodium lamps. On the other hand, LED lamps provide inter-row lighting and illuminate the lower parts of plants. Thanks to this solution, the crops, regardless of the height of the bush, are of the same good quality.
In total, 220 first-generation TomatoBooster lamps and 148 second-generation lamps were installed. One lamp with a length of 5 meters is able to illuminate up to 8 m2 of crops. Lamps with an efficiency of 3.2 umol / J were used. The implementation consisted in supplementing the existing lighting. There were toplights in the greenhouse. We enriched the lighting with interlight lamps. What distinguishes them?
In order to select the most appropriate lamps for this plant species, we decided to conduct our own experiment. We marked out three cultivation aisles, and each of them was illuminated with lamps of different spectrum. Three-month observations selected the best solution.
1st and 2nd generation lamps
A lamp with a length of 5 meters consumes 200 W of power, giving 640 μmol / s, which results in a light intensity of 80 μmol / s / m2, which in combination with HPS customer lamps gives 265 μmol / s / m2, which exceeds the needs of plants.
1st generation lamp
2nd generation lamp
3rd generation lamps
The latest generation of lamps achieves an efficiency of 3.33 μmol / J, which will allow for a higher intensity of μmol / m2. The installation of the third generation LED lamps is planned for July 2021.
After supplementing the greenhouse with LED lamps, the demand for electricity increased by only 25%, which resulted in an increase in yield by about 29%.
Over the years, HPS sodium lamps have been used to illuminate plants, but many studies conducted so far show that LED plant lamps give better results when illuminating seedlings. An example is the experiment carried out at the Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, [Anna Maciejuk: “Password Ogrodnicze” No. 3/2016] the impact of lighting with HPS lamps and LED lamps was compared. As a result, the seedling illuminated with LED lamps was higher and had a greater weight than plants illuminated with sodium lamps.
We care for our customers not only during the purchase. We offer a comprehensive service. Our technicians work all over Poland. For the client’s needs, we come to verify the problem and repair the equipment to maintain the continuous operation of all lamps. Cooperation with us is a guarantee of the best service.
The benefits of lighting a tomato are invaluable. Due to the characteristics of the crops during early spring, the supply of tomato drops significantly. Maintaining the year-round continuity of tomato production allows us to stand out from the competition. Thanks to the low supply and high demand for Polish tomatoes, the customer can increase prices that will compensate for the investment costs and have a positive impact on the profitability of the farm.
For the needs of individual valuation of investments in new LED lighting and audit services, please contact us at (22) 842 22 32 or send inquiries to the e-mail address: biuro@greenie.pl.