Marjoland is one of the largest rose growers in the Netherlands growing five varieties of roses. The family business decided to start with LEDs in hybrid lighting – a combination of HPS and LED lighting – for its Red Naomi! Thereby increasing the light level from 230 µmol/m2/s to 330 µmol/m2/s LED. The combination of HPS and LED unfolded the secret to produce superior quality roses at a higher production level to meet its customer demand.
The Philips GreenPower LED toplighting compact and linear, with the dedicated light recipe for roses, are available with the high efficacy of up to 3.2 µmol/s. To develop the ultimate light recipe, separate trials were conducted at Delphy under full LED lighting. The research shows that the light recipe has a positive influence on leaf quality and bud size. Moreover, the buds of the roses are over 50 mm in length and can be preserved for more than 10 days during winter. The number of stems is good, with about 6,2 stems per m2 per week.
Daniel van den Nouweland, General Director, Marjoland said: “With 20% more light we have significantly higher production, with more uniform quality. By using Signify’s LED lighting, with the light spectrum especially designed for roses, we’re able to lower our energy consumption and at the same time deliver a more homogeneous quality of roses to our customers all year round.”
Udo van Slooten, Business Leader Horticulture, Signify said: “We’re very proud that our research in collaboration with Delphy and WUR has resulted in the successful rose light recipe for the Red Naomi!. This gives rose growers like Marjoland the opportunity to produce top-class roses and increase their light levels. The switch to LED is even more interesting now either for use with an existing HPS set-up and trellis construction or for building a new installation.”
