Effect of the “Cultivation of the future” on Alstroemeria production, stomata conductance and photosynthesis capacity

The “Cultivation of the Future”, is an innovative, fossil free and climate neutral cultivation system for Alstroemeria growing developed by Wageningen University & Research (WUR) in the framework of the program “Greenhouse as Source of Energy” in consultation with Dutch growers. This growing system was tested and compared to a reference cultivation system in The Netherlands. For the experiment, two greenhouse compartments of WUR and two Alstroemeria cultivars were used. During the first year of the experiment,the “Cultivation of the future” showed 31% and 34% higher generative stem production, for respectively the varieties Noize and Virginia. Differences in climate conditions, intensity and nature of the incident light were the main factors influencing such yield gains. During periods with low natural light availability, the higher light intensity supplied by LED lights increased photosynthesis and crop assimilation. At moments with high natural light availability, was the milder climate provided by a lower VD and the highly diffused incident light, what caused an increase in the stomata conductance and in the photosynthesis capacity of the plants. The project was made possible with inspiration and financial support of ‘Kas als Energiebron’, the Dutch energy transition program for the greenhouse sector.