During the summer they're everywhere in the south of the Netherlands, Zundert region: strawberries, strawberries and more strawberries. This year, however, the product can already be tasted in February. Nursery Hereijgers has had LED lights hanging above the plants since November. In collaboration with local entrepreneurs Vezalux and Luminaid, an innovative LED system has been developed, suitable for large-scale application.
The project was started in response to the already applied LED grow lights of the Civilight brand, which Vezalux previously imported. "These lamps came out on top at Test Center Hoogstraten and are already being used on a large scale worldwide. At the request of the grower, we have investigated the possibility for LED assimilation lighting," Barry said. "In February 2017, a test set-up was made using LED strips from Civilight. These were used in a super slim, watertight and impact-resistant luminaire from Luminaid. The test was promising, and after six months of further development, measuring and testing, a light spectrum was ultimately chosen which gives 170 micromol PAR light on the foliage."
Tests
To date, only small-scale tests have been carried out at, for example, test centers and universities with LED assimilation lighting. The experiments showed that by lighting effectively with the right light recipe in combination with the good temperature and nutrition, there are also possibilities in the Dutch climate to grow strawberries of high quality and good taste in winter.
Luminaid has used its standard industrial LED line lighting, Datalux, to develop a new product: Floralux for the strawberry market. "This fixture is extremely suitable for this market because it has the advantages of being impact-resistance and dust-water proof. The light spectrum is fully adapted for assimilation processes in the strawberry crop," says Barry Joosen of Vezalux.
Chris Boomaars and Rob Verstraaten at the Strawberry Day, talking about their beautiful project at strawberry grower Hereijgers
Hoistable
These luminaires have been developed and produced by Luminaid from Roosendaal. The installation of the LED line lighting and control was installed by Stan van Eekelen from Zundert. "They have also developed a height-adjustable suspension, so that the light during the growth of the plant always lights the plants from the optimum height. In February 2018 the first harvest results will be known, but to date the growth of the plants continues steadily as expected."
On Wednesday 10 January, the installation was presented to the world on the Strawberry Day of the ZLTO and its partners in the Brabanthallen. More info: www.aardbeidag.nl