Agrokultura Group increases yields in greenhouse by 24% with Philips LED grow lights

March 31, 2021

Market leader Signify provides the Agrokultura Group greenhouses with Philips LED grow lights
Improved tomato yields in greenhouse by almost 24%
Saved energy and reduced operational costs

Moscow, Russia – Signify (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, has implemented a pilot project at the greenhouses of Agrokultura Group, LLC, installed by horti LED partner Svetogor. According to the results from the trial period, the combination of HPS and Philips GreenPower LED interlighting has increased tomato yields by almost 24% during the winter period.

The Agrokultura Group is located in the Moscow region and is one of the largest suppliers of greenhouse vegetables. The company has 80 hectares of greenhouses, all equipped with HPS lighting. Signify has equipped 1 hectare of these greenhouses with a hybrid system based on Philips 1000W HPS lamps and Philips GreenPower LED interlighting. The goal of this trial was to compare yields using different lighting solutions. In the last two years, the combination of LED interlighting and HPS has increased yields in Confetto tomatoes by 18% per year, and the yields were increased by almost a quarter (+24%) during the period of highest demand - from November to early March. At the same time, energy savings were achieved: the same amount of light generated by HPS consumes over 40% more electricity. Also, LED interlighting proved 50% more efficient than HPS.

Agrokultura Group in Moscow - one of the largest suppliers of greenhouse vegetables

"Agrokultura Group is one of Russia's largest and most modern industrial greenhouse projects, clustered in one location. To ensure a consistently high level of yield and crop quality, we use advanced technology such as drip irrigation, climate control systems, safe crop protection methods, and so on. We know how important the right light is for the plants, so therefore, when it came to increasing yields, we turned to the world leader in this area. The strategy we chose together with the Signify specialists paid off: this season we got excellent results", says Vladimir Chernyshov, General Director of Agrokultura Group.

Vladimir Chernyshov, General Director of Agrokultura Group

"2020 has shown us how important self-sufficiency in food supply can be for a country, regardless of the circumstances. Advanced lighting systems can help companies respond to the growing demand for locally grown vegetables by increasing yields and reducing energy consumption costs", says Eric Benedetti, Vice President and General Manager of Signify in Russia. “The results at Agrokultura once again highlighted our expertise and experience in greenhouse lighting”.

Why a combination of HPS and GreenPower LED interlighting is more efficient than HPS alone

For growth and development, a crop needs a considerable amount of light. For example, a tomato crop needs about 15 moles of light per day. Then the photosynthesis process will be efficient enough for the greenhouse to produce high yields. However, about a third of natural sunlight in a greenhouse does not reach the plant bed due to reflection by the glass, shading by metal constructions, curtain systems and lighting modules. In addition, sunlight has a greater variety of wavelengths than the crop actually needs; the crop consumes light only in the PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) range. For this reason, the amount of sunlight cannot be compared to the amount of artificial light: LEDs provide more wavelengths of the right spectrum for the crop. The need for supplementary lighting is not questioned by specialists. The most important task is to choose a lighting system that will increase yields and reduce operational costs, which have a significant impact on the cost of production. One way to achieve this is to use a hybrid lighting system based on HPS lamps for top lighting and LED solutions for intercanopy lighting.

The LED modules produce very little heat, which means that they can be used in the cenosis zone: the area of the crop where the fruits form. When only the light is used from above, no more than 10% of the light reaches the bottom of this area. However, by combining top- and intercanopy lighting considerably higher yields are achieved with the same amount of light.

For further information, please contact:

Bengi Silan Genc

Media Relations – LED & Special Lighting

Philips Lighting

Tel: +31 6 25441798

E-mail: bengi.genc@signify.com

Daniela Damoiseaux, Global Marcom Manager

Horticulture LED Solutions

Philips Lighting
Tel: +31 6 31 65 29 69

E-mail: daniela.damoiseaux@signify.com

www.philips.com/horti

About Signify

Signify (Euronext: LIGHT) is the world leader in lighting for professionals and consumers and lighting for the Internet of Things. Our Philips products, Interact connected lighting systems and data-enabled services, deliver business value and transform life in homes, buildings and public spaces. With 2020 sales of EUR 6.5 billion, we have approximately 38,000 employees and are present in over 70 countries. We unlock the extraordinary potential of light for brighter lives and a better world. We achieved carbon neutrality in 2020, have been in the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index since our IPO for four consecutive years and were named Industry Leader in 2017, 2018 and 2019. News from Signify is located at the Newsroom, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram. Information for investors can be found on the Investor Relations page.

Agrokultura Group increases yields in greenhouse by 24% with Philips LED grow lights

Why a combination of HPS and GreenPower LED interlighting is more efficient than HPS alone

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