This year, some of the greenhouses of strawberry growers Arno and Sandra Loos will be equipped with LED lighting. Initially, it concerns one department of 9,000 square meters in Moerstraten for the growers, with a total of six hectares of glass at two locations.
In BN De Stem the strawberry growers, who will be one of the few in the Netherlands with production from mid-January, gave a tour of their company this week. The growers are already using lighting on four hectares. This allows them to offer strawberries all year round.
Arno and Sandra Loos, photo: Kwekerij Loos
Optimal spectrum
Currently they are using SON-T lighting, but the growers will gain experience with LED this winter. The new lamps should go on in October. "With LED we can determine the spectrum very precisely," Arno explains. Much research has already been done on LED. "We will soon be able to determine the optimal spectrum ourselves in our greenhouse."
For this, the growers opt for a combination of two types of LED fixtures. One with a 'standard' spectrum and one with more far-red light, among other things. "Research has already shown that it is positive for the extension of the plant and the size of the fruits," says the grower, who hopes to exchange the rest of his lighting for LED in the long term.
Asparagus too
But we are not there yet. At the moment it is the time for full harvesting: both in strawberry greenhouses and in asparagus cultivation. "In the strawberries we are waiting for warmer weather and more demand. Prices are a bit lower there at the moment. With our heated asparagus cultivation we actually benefit from the cold outside."
Kwekerij Loos supplies The Greenery and also manages sixteen strawberry machines in the region.
For more information:
Kwekerij Loos 
www.kwekerijloos.nl
[email protected]