Signify and University of British Columbia Pepper Trial Enters 5th Year

In a continued quest to advance CEA vegetable production in North America, Signify and the University of British Columbia (UBC) are now in the 5th year of a trial for sustainable year-round bell pepper production under Philips horticulture LED lighting.

This multi-year trial is paving the way for Canadian growers to capitalize on the market opportunity to provide locally grown bell peppers during the winter months rather than forcing consumers to rely on imports.

While trials have been conducted in the Netherlands since 2017, the researchers at UBC and the plant specialists at Signify saw a need for an extensive trial under the climate- and growing conditions specific to Canadian growers, which led to the start of the trial in 2021. While Canadian growers produced an impressive 175 million kilograms of greenhouse peppers in 2024 (source: Statistics Canada, 2025), about a quarter of the annual pepper consumption is being imported, due mostly to the fact that Canadian-grown peppers haven’t been grown in greenhouses during the winter months due to a lack of natural light levels. This motivated the UBC researchers to work on developing a production protocol for year-round production under LED lighting.

The UBC Connection

Melina Biron, Greenhouse Research Manager at UBC, has been working with LEDs and in particular the Philips brand for nearly a decade. She connected with Signify in 2016 to outfit the research greenhouse with LEDs, which was early for the industry. A visit to the Philips research campus in 2020 started the conversation about this multi-year pepper trial.

“Canadian growers are still seasonal; they plant in December and pull the crop in November, at which point they lose their competitive contracts as they cannot continue to service the buyer,” explains Biron. “This research is to determine and prove that we can grow year-round in Canada using LEDs and secure better revenue for the product. In this current market of buying Canadian, year-round production could be potentially lucrative.”

Biron points out that several factors determine the profitability of the crop. Much of Canada is cold in the winter, and the cost of heating is high. Plus, there is the cost of the electricity to run the lights. But good prices can offset the new operational expenditure. British Columbia, where most of the greenhouse pepper production takes place, is milder, thereby keeping operational costs for heating lower. It still comes back to getting the prices for the period that Mexico supplies and keeping the contracts with Costco or Sam’s Club and other customers.

The trial setup for this 2025-2026 trial uses the new Philips GreenPower LED Toplighting force (TLF) 2.1. The luminaire provides dynamic light-steering capabilities across three separate channels, which allows for full control of the desired light recipe. There has been a notable benefit of incorporating far-red light into the spectrum, which is being further evaluated during this current trial.

In addition, researchers are evaluating and fine-tuning other aspects of production, such as variety selection, pruning techniques, pest and disease control, temperature, energy conservation, and more. “We are looking at all aspects of production in order to develop a comprehensive production protocol that growers can implement into their schedule,” explains Biron. “A whole new approach needs to be taken to grow under the lights. The walls of the fruit are thicker, and the plants have a harder time to set again as the sun leaves. Pruning spirally has returned them to setting faster than any other year. It has been a privilege to do this research and a pleasure to partner with Signify.”

Pepper trial team members examine the pepper crop in UBC greenhouse. Melina Biron, University of British Columbia, John Galbraith, Signify, Amos Bassi, Signify, Dustin Mater, Svensson.

Building on the Learnings of Four Years

The trial has a significant history, going back to the 2021/2022 growing season, when Signify first engaged with UBC researchers and BC pepper growers to explore the possibility of year-round production. The initial trial objective was to demonstrate the season extension potential with the help of LED lighting. At the time, the trial followed a traditional production protocol with a week 50 planting.

After promising results in the first year with season extension, the trial was continued into the next year with a full winter production cycle in 2022/2023. Now, planting takes place in week 38 instead of week 50 which has proven ideal for year-round production.

One important aspect of the trials is not only the feasibility of year-round production, but also the economic factors. Signify has worked very closely with UBC and with local growers to determine the cost-efficiency of year-round production.

The multi-year format of the trial has allowed Signify and UBC to optimize growing conditions over the years, including variety selection and light recipe. Since there is very little natural radiation available in winter to drive production, the light recipes had to be adjusted and optimized throughout the year to achieve optimal radiation and light spectrum.

Amos Bassi, Signify Senior Plant Specialist and John Galbraith, Signify Key Account Manager with Melina Biron, UBC.

A Group Effort

In addition to Signify as the main sponsor, this year’s trial is made possible with the support of several industry suppliers. “As the primary trial sponsor, it was important that we find the right partners for this final year of the trial”, said Amos Bassi, Senior Plant Specialist at Signify. “I’ve been closely following the trial for the last several years, for this reason we were able to make strong choices in terms of variety selection, light spectrum, screening technology, and growing strategies.”

The research team would like to thank Rijk Zwaan, Ludvig Svensson, and BioBee for providing both monetary as well as product support. “We are grateful to our industry partners, who see the value in this research and who are supporting this year’s trial so generously,” states Bassi.  Additional sponsors have helped make the research possible with donations from Syngenta, BEVO, Priva, Climatrol Solutions, and Prins Greenhouses.

Rijk Zwaan develops high quality fruit and vegetable seeds for the professional agri-food sector.  The independent, family-owned company operates globally in over 100 countries, working with more than 30 different crops and over 2000 varieties. Bassi said, “For this trial, Rijk Zwaan helped us select their highest performing pepper seed varieties under supplemental lighting.”

“Trials like these allow us to understand what plant architectural types will work with lights during difficult winter conditions,” explains Bradley Breeveld, sales manager and crop specialist for Rijk Zwaan.

When asked about some of the observations and takeaways from the trial, Breeveld pointed out that it was interesting determining the plant architecture that would lead to success under supplemental LED lighting. He also points to the different pruning techniques tried by the grower in the trial. Utilizing the research environment, they’ve seen a benefit in adjusting pruning on the plant, which has led to faster resetting.

Ludvig Svensson is an industry leader and innovator of proven greenhouse climate products and solutions. For this trial, Svensson donated climate screens and vertical fans to highlight the compatibility of their technology with Philips LED lighting to create an optimal greenhouse environment for the growth of bell peppers.

“As this research trial supports UBC and also local bell pepper growers, we are proud to be involved,” explains Dustin Mater, Canadian sales manager for Svensson. “Svensson is an industry leader, and this trial supports and reflects our position in the industry as greenhouse climate solution and knowledge providers. This trial will benefit and support Canadian bell pepper growers by testing and trialing greenhouse technology installation and best-practices and also provide them with detailed data to confirm the efficacy of the technology.”

“We are proud to be included in this trial with UBC, Signify, and the other partners,” states Mater. “We at Svensson look forward to sharing our experiences, offering support to the Canadian CEA bell pepper industry, and to promoting positive results and growth, well into the future!”

As the trial looks at all aspects of production, inputs other than hardgoods and variety selection need to be considered. A greenhouse is not an isolated system, and all inputs interact with each other, which can also have impact on pests, diseases and beneficials. This is where BioBee comes in as a valuable partner. BioBee is a leader in production and implementation of beneficial macro-organisms in agriculture and is contributing its biological pest control solutions and expertise to the trial. As part of its trial sponsorship, the company is routinely monitoring the establishment of various beneficials, and conversely the rate of pest infestations in the hope that more can be learned about the dynamics of predator/prey interactions under LEDs. Previous research indicates the potential for increased cycling and activity of beneficials. One potential trial outcome is that growers may see a benefit of maximizing the effect of biological control and reducing pest pressures.

Skirma Dab, technical sales representative for BioBee, said, “We need to continue developing our understanding of how key beneficials behave under different lighting conditions.” When asked about the importance of a collaborative trial like this, Skirma Dab points to the intricacies of a greenhouse system. “It’s not an isolated system,” Dab explains. “All inputs interact with each other, which can also impact beneficials. Collaborating on a project allows us all to learn from one another and look at the greenhouse as a larger unit. Ultimately, this benefits the grower the most.”

Amos Bassi, Signify and Dustin Mater, Svensson Canada Sales Manager.

A Look Ahead

The Signify team is working with local growers to share trial updates and incorporate their knowledge into the trials, which includes ROI calculations to show the feasibility and opportunities of winter pepper production. Bassi summarized his view of the trial, “We are pleased to have the partnership and support of knowledgeable, reputable, and high-quality brands all focused on delivering the best outcomes for BC pepper growers.”  The trial is scheduled to conclude in June of 2026, at which point detailed findings will be shared.