"Photo Red continues to present opportunities for meaningful development"
Source: HD.com
At GreenTech Amsterdam, Morgan Meadows Davis, Product Manager at Cree LED, outlined the company's latest development in horticultural lighting: the next generation of its XLamp® XPL S Line Photo Red LED. While a three percent increase may appear modest, efficiency gains are becoming increasingly valuable as growers and lighting manufacturers seek to reduce energy consumption while maintaining high light output.
© Eelkje Pulley | HortiDaily.com The Cree LED team at Greentech Amsterdam this year Continued progress in photo red technology According to Morgan, horticultural-specific LEDs still offer opportunities for larger performance improvements than more mature lighting technologies. "We're still seeing those step-function gains in efficiency on 660nm and 720nm red products, so we're continuing to push for higher performance on these LEDs." Customer requirements shape development Rather than developing products in isolation, Cree LED works closely with lighting manufacturers to understand fixture design requirements and performance targets.
"All of those are things that we take into consideration to help figure out what are the best products to fill these needs." This customer-driven approach has contributed to the company's expanding horticultural LED portfolio, providing manufacturers with multiple options depending on their fixture design objectives. "A lot of those lighting fixtures are already designed," Morgan explains.
Why this matters: For operators, this is a water-management story. The useful signal is that direct substrate measurements can help cut drain loss materially without giving up yield or fruit quality, which is exactly the kind of controllable efficiency gain a facility can build on.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does substrate sensing matter in free-drain strawberry systems?
Because drain percentage tells a grower what already happened, while substrate moisture and EC data show root-zone conditions directly. That makes it easier to cut water loss without guessing.
What is the operator takeaway from this trial?
If the thresholds are understood well enough, growers can reduce drain water materially while protecting yield and fruit quality, which makes sensing an operational tool instead of a reporting tool.
