内容摘要
High-wire tomato and cucumber crops grow several metres tall, yet greenhouse lighting is still largely designed around a horizontal plane. For the Bloemteknik team, this is a mismatch between the way light is delivered and the way the crop grows. "For years, progress in horticultural lighting has been…
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HortiDailyHigh-wire tomato and cucumber crops grow several metres tall, yet greenhouse lighting is still largely designed around a horizontal plane. For the Bloemteknik team, this is a mismatch between the way light is delivered and the way the crop grows.
"For years, progress in horticultural lighting has been measured in fixture efficacy (µmol/J). That metric has largely plateaued. Each new generation of fixtures now delivers only marginal gains, while growers are paying for photons that can oversaturate the top layers of the plant without stimulating growth in the middle and lower parts of the crop. Additionally, many photons land on the walkways between plant rows, making the lighting investment even more expensive," says James Fleet.
Bloemteknik's Top Crop system is designed to address this distribution problem. Its linear light engines are mounted above the greenhouse aisles, run parallel to the crop rows and are angled towards the vertical crop faces. "This allows light to reach the leaves and fruiting zones from a closer distance, rather than relying on high-output point-source fixtures mounted higher above the canopy," James explains. This avoids explaining the same horizontal-versus-vertical distinction twice, while keeping the argument and technical explanation intact.
© Bloemteknik
A separate Relux simulation compared Top Crop with a widely specified 1400 W-class point-source LED toplight across a complete four-row greenhouse bay. At full specification, Top Crop delivered an average of 26% more light two metres below canopy top and 44% more at one metre below canopy top. It also showed substantially more consistent light distribution between rows.
The commercial implications are equally relevant. By reducing the installation from 18 to 16 light engines per row, an 11% reduction in fixture count, the modelled Top Crop system still delivered approximately 15% more light at two metres and 32% more at one metre below canopy top than the full-specification reference system. Installed power density remained comparable at 152.8 versus 151.3 W/m².
These findings form the basis of a new technical whitepaper from Bloemteknik, which examines the physiological and engineering principles behind vertical light delivery, presents the supporting field measurements and photometric models, and outlines the recommended commercial specification for high-wire cultivation.
Click here for the complete whitepaper.
For more information:
Bloemteknik
Sophia House Cathedral Rd Cardiff CF11 9LJ, United Kingdom
+44 (0) 2920 660250
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