METHOD AND ILLUMINATION SYSTEM FOR PLANT RECOVERY FROM STRESS

• US 20150313092A1
• Filed: 12/12/2013
• Published: 11/05/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2012
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Heliospectra AB
• Original Assignee: Heliospectra AB
• Inventors: POCOCK, Tessa, WIK, Torsten, CARSTENSEN, Anna-Maria
• Application Number:
  US14/651,723
• Publication Number:
  US 20150313092A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 22/00 Cultivation of specific crops or plants not otherwise provided for
• CPC Class Codes: A01G 7/045 with electric lighting
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/00 Circuit arrangements for operating light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 45/33 Pulse-amplitude modulation [PAM]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 60/14 Measures for saving energy, e.g. in green houses

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for artificial illumination of a plant, the method comprising the steps of: controlling an illumination system to illuminate the plant, the emitted light having a first spectral distribution and a first intensity level, the first spectral distribution and the first intensity level selected for optimizing growth of the plant; detecting, using a sensor, the presence of stress in the plant; if stress is detected, controlling the illumination system to illuminate the plant with light having a second spectral distribution and a second intensity level, the second intensity level being lower than the first intensity level. The invention also relates to an illumination system for artificial illumination of a plant according to the method above.

Claims

1. A method for artificial illumination of a plant, the method comprising:

controlling an illumination system to illuminate the plant with emitted light, the emitted light having a first spectral distribution and a first intensity level, the first spectral distribution and the first intensity level selected for optimizing growth of the plant;

detecting, using a sensor, a presence of stress in the plant;

when stress is detected, controlling the illumination system to illuminate the plant with light having a second spectral distribution and a second intensity level, the second intensity level being lower than the first intensity level.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein

the second spectral distribution is different from the first spectral distribution.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the second spectral distribution comprises a combination of 30-50% light from within a blue wavelength region, 30-50% light from within a red wavelength region, and 5-30% light from within a green wavelength region.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein detecting stress, using the sensor, comprises detecting a normalized level of stress in the plant.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the illumination system is controlled to again illuminate the plant with light having the first spectral distribution and the first intensity level when it is determined that a stress level is below a predetermined threshold.

10. A computer program product comprising a non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer program means for controlling a control unit of an illumination system configured for artificial illumination of a plant, wherein the computer program product comprises code for performing the method according to claim 1.

5. The method according to claim 5, wherein the second spectral distribution and the second intensity level is dependent on the normalized stress level.

7. An illumination system for artificial illumination of a plant, the illumination system comprising:

a light emitting device configured to emit light of an adjustable spectrum;

a sensor configured to detect a presence of stress in the plant, and

a control unit, the control unit being electrically coupled to the sensor and the light emitting device, the control unit being configured to;

control the illumination system to illuminate the plant with emitted light, the emitted light having a first spectral distribution and a first intensity level, the first spectral distribution and the first intensity level selected for optimizing growth of the plant;

detect, using the sensor, a normalized level of stress in the plant; and

when the normalized stress level is above a predetermined threshold, control the illumination system to illuminate the plant with light having a second spectral distribution and a second intensity level determined by the control unit, the second intensity level being lower than the first intensity level.

8. The illumination system according to claim 7, wherein the control unit adjusts the second spectral distribution and the second intensity level based on the normalized stress level.

9. The illumination system according to claim 7, wherein the sensor comprises one of a chlorophyll fluorometer and one or a plurality of photodiodes.