With a combination of HPS and 25% LED lights with a light level of 364 µmol/m2/s on 5.8 hectares in Monster, the Netherlands, Lugt Lisianthus is able to grow more flowers and firmer stems with a shelf life of 14 days. “We chose Signify because of the quality and reliability they provide. In addition, we believe that the Philips GreenPower LED is the most beautiful fixture. It is compact and also offers a long service life," says Marcel van der Lugt of Lugt Lisianthus.
Lugt Lisianthus is a family business that is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. Originally producing vegetables and later freesias, the company has been growing lisianthus since 1992. In recent years, Lugt Lisianthus has successfully worked to improve the image and quality of the lisianthus. “Where we used to be able to grow 5 flowers per branch, we are now at 15 flowers per branch. We have also been able to shorten the cultivation period to 8 weeks and have almost doubled the shelf life to 14 days,” says Van der Lugt.
The company is the first to cultivate Lisianthus according to Next Generation Growing (Dutch: "Het Nieuwe Telen"). In winter, the air in the greenhouse is refreshed and brought up to temperature with outside air, reducing humidity and keeping the crop more active. As a result, the climate in the greenhouse remains the same all year round. Growing Lisianthus requires a lot of energy, but with Next Generation Growing, Lugt Lisianthus tries to be as sustainable as possible. Lugt Lisiantus chose the Philips GreenPower LEDs, which give less radiant heat, use 40% less energy and have a payback time of 5 years.
Lugt Lisianthus also found that it was possible to use the the LEDs also during the summer. Until now, the grower chose to light the crop less the first four weeks to prevent the lisianthus from growing too fast and the head of the plant from getting too hot. With the new LED lighting, with little (convection) heat, it is now possible to start with LED lighting only.
Based on the customer's specific greenhouse situation, Signify's application engineers determine the most optimal lighting solution. Using a hybrid lighting installation, it is possible to grow a high quality crop all year round with lower energy costs.
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