Soli Organic is the number 1 leading national grower of fresh, organic, culinary herbs in the USA
Soli Organic has observed up to 42% yield increases across 9 different crops since the deployment of Align LEDs from Bloem
have been deployed at Soli Organic after rigorous testing
Charlie: “Today, we’re speaking with Tessa Pocock, Chief Science Officer at Soli Organic. Soli Organic is an innovative leader within Controlled Environment Agriculture and the organic farming of herbs and leafy green produce in the US market. Thank you for joining us, Tessa. Please could you tell us about Soli Organic’s understanding of how the quantity and quality of light impacts plant yield, nutritional content, and growth cycles at your farms?”
Tessa: “Absolutely, light is a fundamental factor in plant growth and development. At Soli Organic, we have prioritised understanding the intricate relationship between light and plant growth. In this instance, light quality refers to the spectrum composition across all wavelengths, and their uniformity over the plant canopy. This light recipe directly influences photosynthesis, plant growth and development whilst enhancing nutritional content in our herb and leafy green produce. Light quantity refers to the amount of light being delivered at the plant canopy. Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) is being converting via photosynthesis into biochemical energy to drive vegetive growth in our plants while wavelengths outside of PAR influence development and biochemistry.”
Charlie: “Thanks for that introduction. So would it be fair to say that tailoring the lighting variables, including light recipes and PAR levels based on your scientific research is important to the overall farm productivity at Soli Organic?”
Tessa: “Yes, optimising the lighting has been crucial for enhancing photosynthetic rates across a variety of leafy greens, promoting robust growth and desirable plant characteristics particularly in CEA facilities. By carefully calibrating our lighting solutions, we can ensure consistently high yields and accelerate our crop cycles. Furthermore, efficient light delivery methods, such as those in our latest indoor farms, enable us to maximize space utilisation and production capacity while minimising other resources including power consumption and labour. Overall, our holistic approach to lighting plays a fundamental role in achieving flavoursome, nutrient-rich crops, and heavily contributes to our goal of sustainable CEA farming practices.”
Charlie: “That’s fascinating. Given the compact headspaces involved within some vertical farming applications, we know it can often be difficult to achieve high levels of uniformity over compact grow areas. How important is uniformity for your plants and is this something you look for and test at R&D stage?”
Tessa: “It has been shown that high levels of uniformity are essential in the consistent production of high-quality herb and leafy green produce. There is a linear relationship between yield and uniformity until a saturation point is reached. For us to maximise the productivity of each of our indoor farms we require our lighting systems to achieve that uniformity threshold regardless of the mounting clearance or application involved. Plants receiving light in excess of our intensity setpoints may induce stress and dry-out faster than those plants receiving less and comparatively plants not receiving sufficient light would develop slower and yields would be compromised. Any variations in plant growth can become very difficult to manage for our growers at scale.”
Charlie: “Thanks Tessa, we agree that high levels of uniformity is imperative to good CEA lighting. Generally speaking, the lower the available clearance from canopy to emitting surface and the fewer luminaires used the harder this can be to achieve. May I ask how spectral uniformity at the plant canopy compares with intensity uniformity?”
Tessa: “That’s an interesting question as we don’t see this spoken about as much in the industry, but we believe it is of significant importance. We need to ensure that the light quality we specify is delivered evenly to each plant in production. Spectral uniformity is vitally important as light not only supplies the required energy for plant growth but also delivers information that can turn on over 26 genes and regulates hundreds of biochemical pathways. Higher levels of spectral uniformity encourage plants to exhibit similar growth and development characteristics.
Charlie: “Thanks Tessa, spectral uniformity needs to be built into the product’s engineering back-bone and considered from early design conception in order to deliver upon such low deviation when installed. So, we’ve talked about the importance of good CEA lighting but how does Soli Organic measure the effectiveness of their lighting strategies?”
Tessa: “All of our lighting platforms are rigorously tested at our R&D facilities before exposing our plants to them. However, once we’ve done our initial assessments, we utilize a variety of metrics to assess the effectiveness of our lighting strategies. These include monitoring plant growth parameters such as height, leaf size, and biomass accumulation. We also measure key indicators of plant health and vitality, and we conduct regular quality assessments to evaluate the nutritional content and flavour profiles of our crops. By analysing these metrics in conjunction with environmental factors such as temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 levels, we can fine-tune our lighting strategies to optimise performance. The plants don’t lie, and you will be able to visibly notice the difference between okay and good lighting strategies.”
Charlie: “Thanks Tessa and from your experience in what ways do you believe the optimisation of the lighting variables we have discussed influences the nutritional content of the plants Soli Organic sell to their local markets?
Tessa: “Light optimisation plays a crucial role in enhancing the nutritional content of our leafy greens. By leveraging our research in light recipes and the latest in LED and optical technology we can stimulate the production of secondary metabolites, such as antioxidants and phytochemicals, which contribute to the nutritional value and flavour profile of our produce. Additionally, proper light management promotes healthy plant growth, enabling plants to efficiently absorb essential nutrients from our soil solutions. As a result, our crops are not only high-yielding but also nutritionally dense and flavourful.”
Charlie: “Thank you, Tessa, for sharing your insights into the importance of optimal lighting in CEA and organic farming. It’s clear that Soli Organic’s dedication to innovation and sustainability is driving positive change in the industry.”
Tessa: “Thank you for having me. We’re committed to advancing sustainable agriculture practices and providing nutritious, flavourful produce for our customers.”
