Explore the benefits of growing strawberries with Sollum's LED grow light solution.

• Studies are showing that cultivars have variable responses to lighting conditions – what works for Albion may not work for Harmony, for example.

• Sollum's fully dynamic lighting allows growers to apply the best lighting parameters to each cultivar rather than attempting to find a happy medium.

– We've learned that the first stretch of stems and flowering clusters is critical for ensuring proper airflow in the canopy, thereby reducing the proliferation of fungal pathogens, and facilitating scouting.

• With far-red light, greenhouse growers can boost stem elongation early on, then remove far-red once adequate stretching is achieved. Alternatively, growers can also keep far-red on during the winter months when low ambient light levels would otherwise limit flowering.

– Fully dynamic lighting may prove useful for managing greenhouse pathogens, with multiple studies indicating that pathogens respond to different light conditions.

• Currently under study: which night interruption techniques, if any, can help greenhouse strawberry growers mitigate damage by powdery mildew?

Lessons learned

Powdery mildew is Enemy #1 in greenhouse strawberries, but specific lighting treatments have the potential to drastically reduce the infection rate, making dynamic lighting another tool in the toolbox. More to follow!

– Light levels vary strongly depending on the type of gutter system installed (i.e., stacked, staggered, rotary, tabletop).

– Fruit quality is higher under LED lighting than HPS, with waste lower under LED lighting.

• There is also the potential to improve fruit quality with unique light treatments.

– Cultivars all respond differently to light, which makes multi-zoning an incredibly useful feature in a lighting system.