Tucked away in a back nursery at Bostdorff’s Greenhouses is a cutting-edge growing system trial. The
unexpected finding may lengthen the growing season.
Small strobe lights are advancing the growth of tomato plants by a few days to a week ahead of other
plants in the trial.
While early in the procedure, if preliminary indications are proven and replicated, Dick Bostdorff said
this will be extremely valuable to greenhouses and nurseries.
"It doesn’t make sense," Bostdorff said there is no logical explanation for why the lights are
stimulating growth.
"I can’t explain why it works, but it does," he said.
There are three separate areas in the trial. In addition to the revolutionary strobe lights, there is
also an area for no additional light and a section with high pressure sodium lights. The latter is
commonly used to stimulate growth in greenhouses.
The idea for using strobe lights was Bostdorff’s. He was aware of a project many years ago where the
strobes were used for "mums." The test found an increased growth in chrysanthemums, however,
it was not practical in fields where commercial mums are grown.
At Bostdorff’s, both the strobes and the sodium lights are on for three hours each day – 90 minutes in
the morning, 90 minutes in the evening. While the sodium lights are on solid for those three hours, the
strobes are on for only two minutes at a time with 60 flashes per minute. The strobes are then off for
20 minutes, before being reactivated for another two-minute period. This is repeated during each time
frame giving 12 periods, just 24 minutes of bonus lighting each morning and each evening.
Aside from the increased growth, the cost savings could mean billions of dollars for the industry. Six
strobe lights can be purchased for the same money as one sodium light.
Even more important is the electrical cost saving.
"The electricity used by the strobe lights is infinitessimal," Bostdorff said. "With high
sodium lights the meter goes crazy."
The trial is being partially financed by the United States Department of Agriculture through the Maumee
Valley Growers Association. The University of Toledo is participating in the trial by collecting and
documenting all the data.
Joe Perlaky, with UT and a program manager of Maumee Valley Growers, said he and researchers at the
university are very excited.
"This result was not anticipated," Perlaky said. "It has been a very good first year. The
university is interested in replicating this study."
He added further studies will likely include induction lighting, which is also commonly used in the
industry, as well as lights that will expand the spectrum of the lights to more closely imitate
sunlight.
A second facility in Whitehouse is conducting a separate but similar study using LED lights instead of
the strobes.
In the trial, there are more than 400 separate tomato plants featuring five different varieties of tomato
including commercial tomatoes and heirlooms. Each variety is replicated three times within each test
group. Three plants of each variety are planted into a bag of soil, with three separated bags for each
variety.
Bostdorff says consistently across the board, the strobe-lit plants are out-performing the others. At
this point roughly six weeks after seeding, the strobes are three to four days ahead of the sodium light
plants and eight to nine days ahead of the plants naturally lit.
Not only did they flower earlier and produce fruit earlier, the strobe plants are also fuller and
thicker.
He added after harvesting, those bags can be used again for more plants. Once expended, the soil can be
used as compost so nothing goes to waste.
Both men also spoke about the possibility of using solar panels to power the strobe lights as another
cost-cutting measure.
"Our goal is to make sure we can grow quality and quantity and do it economically," Perlaky
said.
Bostdorff said if they also find a way to heat the greenhouses economically in the winter, this could
lead to a year-round growing season.