Hitting the right notes for city farm lighting

Consumers are more food-conscious, demanding locally grown food from trusted sources. At the same time, the supply chain must meet ever stricter production and hygienic regulations, which make it difficult to supply fresh and consistent quality vegetables year round.

The concept of city farms is relatively new and establishing a sustainable and profitable city farm facility is challenging. Gus van der Feltz, Global Director City Farming at Philips says, “The success of a city farm depends on connecting all the right components. That means getting the lighting, climate, nutrition, irrigation, software and sensors right for a specific growth environment, for a growth recipe for that particular crop.”

The right lighting
Results from the first research experiments at the GrowWise Center are very promising, according to Philips. For example, within six weeks a trial with a variety of lettuce produced heads of lettuce weighing 200 grams each with a total yield of more than 100 kg/m2 a year. Another lettuce variety also showed excellent red coloration after a specific light treatment during the final phase of the growth. Adjusting the growth parameters resulted in lettuce with lower concentrations of nitrate.

By applying different growth recipes to cultivate plants it is possible to influence a wide range of variables, including higher yields, earlier flowering, faster root growth/germination, enhanced taste and coloration to name a few. There are many other benefits from growing crops in a city farm. Very consistent, high quality crops can be grown that are free of pesticides and insects. Crops can be locally grown, resulting in a fresher, tastier product that can command premium prices.

For more information:
Philips Lighting
www.philips.com