Signify has installed Philips GreenPower LED toplighting and Philips GreenPower LED interlighting in another greenhouse in Poland, this time to help grow pink tomatoes. The Piotr Kociszewski greenhouse, part of the VegaPOL producer group, has a 6-hectare greenhouse complex, of which about 2 ha is now equipped with an LED lighting system offering up to 260 µmol/s/m2. It is the first large-scale Signify greenhouse pink tomato cultivation project with such a powerful lighting system not only in Poland, but in the entire Central Europe.
Innovative solutions for sustainable development
The VegaPOL-Kociszewski greenhouse uses a full LED lighting solution with a combined output up to 260 µmol/s/m2. This high output allows for intensive tomato cultivation in the winter period regardless of the availability of natural light. This project follows the latest global trends of maximizing the amount of light per square meter of cultivation. The typical light output in greenhouses in this region is around 200 µmol/s/m2, but in Poland the actual output of the lighting installations is often less—or even much less—than that.
The Piotr Kociszewski greenhouse was established in 1998, and Piotr Kociszewski now continues the family greenhouse tradition. He focuses on fully ecological pink tomato cultivation, which has now been made possible thanks to the innovative technologies such as LED lighting and diffused glass, supporting the goals of sustainable development in agriculture.
"The large-scale full LED project in our greenhouse was a success. Signify’s horticulture specialists helped us with their extensive knowledge on tomato cultivation under artificial lighting. This was very important to us, especially since our system was to be the first large-scale greenhouse full LED lighting installation in Poland, with such a high light output. Our mission is to only use cultivation methods in which the vegetables we sell are healthy, free from chemical contamination, and produced in the most sustainable way," says Piotr Kociszewski, owner of the Piotr Kociszewski greenhouse.
"Consumers today are more and more conscious of the sustainability of tomato farming, and this aspect is gaining real commercial value for greenhouses growing tomatoes under LED lighting. We are glad that following the first micro-tests, Mr. Piotr Kociszewski decided to go for a large-scale LED solution in 2019, and this season almost doubled the acreage of the LED installation to a total area of about 2 ha," - says Maciej Król, Horti LED Business Development Manager CEE at Signify.
Growing year-round in Polish conditions
In Poland, year-round tomato cultivation is possible only with the use of artificial lighting in greenhouses. The most common solutions used are HPS lamps, which are not very energy efficient. The alternative solution are modern greenhouse technologies based on LED lighting. These solutions allow for electricity savings of up to 50% compared to HPS, making them much more environmentally friendly. The LED grow lights also emit much less heat than the HPS units, so the greenhouse does not overheat, thereby optimizing the climate inside. It is the most environmentally friendly method of year-round tomato production available today.
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