Method for enhancing the nutritional value in an edible plant part by light, and lighting device therefore

• US 10,172,296 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2013
• Issued: 01/08/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Signify Holding B.V. (Signify N.V.)
• Original Assignee: Philips Lighting BV (Koninklijke Philips N.V.)
• Inventors: Krijn, Marcellinus Petrus Carolus Michael, Van Hal, Paulus Albertus, Onac, Gabriel-Eugen, Tanase, Cristina
• Primary Examiner(s): Hayes, Kristen C
• Application Number:
  US14/425,435
• Publication Number:
  US 20150223402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,957 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 7/045 with electric lighting
• CPC Class Codes: F21V 23/0442 activated by means of a sensor, e.g. motion or photodetectors
• CPC Class Codes: F21W 2131/30 Lighting for domestic or personal use
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2105/10 comprising a two-dimensional array of point-like light-generating elements
• CPC Class Codes: F21Y 2115/10 Light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 60/14 Measures for saving energy, e.g. in green houses

Abstract

The invention provides a method for enhancing the nutritional value in a first plant part (2) of a crop (1), wherein the first plant part (2) comprises an edible plant part, wherein the crop (1) in addition to the first plant part (2) comprises one or more other plant parts (3), wherein the method comprises illuminating during a nutritional enhancement lighting period a target part (5) of said first plant part (2) with horticulture light (511) that is selected to enhance formation of a nutrient in said first plant part (2) while allowing one or more other plant parts (3) to be subjected to different light conditions, wherein the nutritional enhancement lighting period is started within two weeks from harvest of the first plant part (2).

Claims

1. A method for enhancing the nutritional value in a plant part of a crop, wherein a first plant part of a crop comprises an edible plant part, wherein the crop in addition to the first plant part comprises one or more other plant parts, wherein the method comprises:

illuminating during the crop a lighting period, wherein light is provided for a predetermined time to enhance the nutritional value of a target part of said first plant part with light that is selected to enhance formation of a nutrient in said first plant part;

allowing one or more other plant parts to be subjected to different light conditions, wherein the lighting period is started at a predetermined start time wherein the first plant part receives during the lighting period light with a at least one of different spectral wavelength distribution and intensity than the one or more other plant parts; and

wherein the method comprises providing said light to said target part with a photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD), as measured in number of photons per second per unit of area of at least 50 μ

mol/sec/m².

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the light has a spectral light distribution with at least light intensity at a wavelength selected from one or more of the ranges of 300-475 nm and 600-800 nm.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the light has a spectral light distribution with light intensity at a first wavelength selected from the range of 300-475 nm and at a second wavelength selected from the range of 600-800 nm.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein a ratio of photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) of blue light to red light of the light illuminating said target part of said first plant part is in the range of 1:

2-1;

50, with red and blue ranging from 625-675 nm and from 400-475 nm, respectively.

5. A method for enhancing the nutritional value in a plant part of a crop, wherein a first plant part of a crop comprises an edible plant part, wherein the crop in addition to the first plant part comprises one or more other plant parts, wherein the method comprises:

illuminating during the crop a lighting period, wherein light is provided for a predetermined time to enhance the nutritional value of a target part of said first plant part with light that is selected to enhance formation of a nutrient in said first plant part;

while

allowing one or more other plant parts to be subjected to different light conditions, wherein the lighting period is started at a predetermined start time wherein the first plant part receives during the lighting period light with a at least one of different spectral wavelength distribution and intensity than the one or more other plant parts; and

wherein the light has a spectral light distribution with at least light intensity at a wavelength selected from the range 625-675 nm, and wherein a photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) as measured in number of photons per second per unit of area, to which the target part is exposed, is in the range of 100-400 μ

mol/sec/m² within said wavelength range.

6. The method according to claim 5, wherein the light is supplemental light in addition to existing lighting by one or more of daylight and artificial light.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the method comprises sensing a status of the first plant part and based thereon determining the start of the lighting period.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the method comprises starting the lighting period one week before the predetermined harvest of the first plant part, based on the status.

9. A method for enhancing the nutritional value in a plant part of a crop in a horticulture application, wherein first plant parts of a plurality of crops comprises an edible plant parts, wherein the crops in addition to the first plant parts comprises one or more other plant parts, wherein the method comprises:

illuminating the crops during a lighting period, wherein lighting is provided for a predetermined time to enhance the nutritional value of a target part of said first plant parts with horticulture light that is selected to enhance formation of a nutrient in said first plant parts;

allowing one or more other plant parts to be subjected to different light conditions, wherein the lighting period is started at a predetermined time wherein the first plant parts receive during the lighting period light with a at least one of different spectral wavelength distribution and intensity than the one or more other plant parts, and

illuminating the plant parts with the horticulture light of a lighting device which is at least partly arranged between the plurality of crops, and wherein the first plant parts are a fruit or vegetable selected from the group consisting of a flower bud, a seed, a tuber, a whole plant sprout, a root, a bulb, a legume, a botanical fruit that is used as a culinary vegetable, and a culinary fruit; and

wherein the lighting period is started at predetermined start time based on an estimated harvest of the first plant part or an evaluation of a status of the crop and/or the first plant part.

10. The method according to claim 9, further including the step of applying light, using the lighting device comprising a plurality of light sources arranged in 2D array comprising rows of light sources, wherein one or more rows of light sources are configured to provide during said lighting period horticulture light, that has higher light intensity at a first wavelength selected from the range of 300-475 nm and at a second wavelength selected from the range of 600-800 nm than one or more other rows of light sources during said lighting period.

11. The method according to claim 9, further including the step of applying light, using the wherein the lighting device is configured to provide during said lighting period light having a spectral light distribution with at least light intensity at a first wavelength selected from the range of 300-475 nm and at a second wavelength selected from the range of 600-800 nm, wherein during said lighting period one or more rows provide light having a different intensity in one or more of said wavelength ranges, than one or more other rows, and wherein the one or more other rows provide during said nutritional enhancement lighting period light having a spectral light distribution with at least light intensity at a first wavelength selected from the range of 625-700 nm.

12. A method for enhancing the nutritional value in a plant part of a crop, wherein a first plant part of a crop comprises an edible plant part, wherein the crop in addition to the first plant part comprises one or more other plant parts, wherein the method comprises:

illuminating during the crop a lighting period, wherein light is provided for a predetermined time to enhance the nutritional value of a target part of said first plant part with light that is selected to enhance formation of a nutrient in said first plant part;

while

allowing one or more other plant parts to be subjected to different light conditions, wherein the lighting period is started at a predetermined start time wherein the first plant part receives during the lighting period light with a at least one of different spectral wavelength distribution and intensity than the one or more other plant parts; and

wherein the lighting period is started at predetermined start time based on an estimated harvest of the first plant part or an evaluation of a status of the crop and/or the first plant part.