LumiGrow’s Latest Lighting Research Highlighted in Grower Event, Upcoming Webinar

LumiGrow Growers CouncilLumiGrow recently hosted a meeting of some of Canada’s most influential growers and researchers. The goal of the LumiGrow Ontario Growers’ Council, held at the Harrow Research and Development Centre last month, was to discuss the latest spectral science research findings from the previous year, and facilitate collaborative advancement for growers to implement the latest lighting science for their individual production objectives. Industry leaders representing a broad range of vegetable, floriculture, and cannabis producers gathered to learn how to implement modern lighting strategies for their own production.

Dr. Melanie Yelton, LumiGrow Vice President of Research, shared preliminary results of recent production trials. Highlights from recent LumiGrow LED research include: an increase in flowering observed in cucumber, tomatoes, and cannabis; reduction of the spread of powdery mildew in cucumbers using LumiGrow LED lighting; and determination of optimum supplemental LED light intensity for strawberry production.

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Dr. Xiuming Hao and Shalin Khosla of Harrow Research also presented their own trial results in conjunction with giving growers a tour of their greenhouse facility.

“Growers who attend the LumiGrow Growers’ Council really see value in getting a first-hand look at the plants grown under our LEDs,” Yelton says. “Through research done in collaboration with Harrow, we’re constantly uncovering exciting possibilities. For instance, we’re seeing it’s possible to increase production numbers and produce firmer, sweeter fruit in peppers using LEDs.”

Additional LumiGrow research results have shown that 32 days after planting, tomato plants showed a 45% increase in height and a 28% increase in weight, as well as other benefits related to morphology, flowering, root development, and flavor.

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The capstone to the meeting was a live demonstration of LumiGrow’s Grow Light Sensor technology, currently being rolled out in LumiGrow’s pilot program. The light sensor measures ambient light from the sun to combine with supplemental light to provide constant light conditions inside the greenhouse.

“Our partnership approach to research is doing more than to advance understanding of how to successfully utilize LED technology,” Yelton says. “At LumiGrow, we also work to create a community for growers by growers, so LED growth strategies can be shared among colleagues looking to achieve production numbers beyond the status quo.”

The results of this research, along with a Grow Light Sensor demo, will also be featured in a webinar LumiGrow is presenting on May 4. Growers who sign up for the webinar will be able to take these learnings and apply them as lighting strategies for increased crop production efficiency. The webinar is intended to be useful for growers of all crop types.

“We already understand how growers can better use their existing lighting to achieve more robust growth,” Yelton says. “What we’re doing is taking an informed approach towards making further discoveries, so we can continually give the best recommendations that help our growers achieve specific goals.”

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