Canada: LED interlighting enhances winter tomato production at Elmira
Prior to the LED interlighting installation, the greenhouse, covering an area of more than 3,400 square meters, relied solely upon natural light for crop production. Without supplemental light, Elmira’s tomato production followed a schedule with planting taking place the first week of November. Now, with the installation of interlighting, Elmira’s Own Produce plans to plant their crops during week 35, thereby enabling them to begin harvesting by the end of October and take full advantage of higher winter tomato pricing.
Designed to deliver 112 micromoles in the spectrum of deep red / blue, the installation included more than 1,600 Philips interlighting modules. With the installation completed in December 2015, Elmira’s Own Produce began using the LED interlighting with their 2016 crop production.
Ron DeKok, Business Development Director of horticulture LED lighting for Philips North America said, “The installation of Philips interlighting has enabled Elmira’s Own to accelerate growth of their Elmira’s brand tomatoes in a truly productive way—by delivering targeted light to stimulate growth and increase yield.”
Doug Marlow, Philips Business Development Manager, explained, “Elmira’s Own Produce’s goal was to increase tomato production using their existing greenhouse structures. The only way to achieve this was through the addition of light, and light in the form of Philips LED interlighting proved to be the optimal lighting solution for their situation.”
For more information:
Philips Horticulture LED Solutions
www.philips.com/horti