Heliospectra grows oat and barley under LED lighting

The study’s goal was to see how different lighting conditions affected the growth of cereals.
The study’s goal was to see how different lighting conditions affected the growth of cereals. | File photo

Cereal plants oat and barley have successfully been grown by Heliospectra AB, which works to produce lighting technology for crop cultivation and plant research. 

Heliospectra AB teamed up with Gothenburg Univeristy, Crop Tailor and OlsAro for the study and subsequent report entitled "Growth and development of cereals in a controlled environment with sole source LED lighting."

The study’s goal was to see how different lighting conditions affected the growth of cereals, specifically plant structure, developing time, flowering time grain quality and yield. Heliospectra’s adjustable LED LX60 Series lighting system was used as the sole light source.

“Both oat and barley are two crops many don't believe can flower in an enclosed environment with LED grow lights as sole source,” Danield Bankestad, research and development engineer at Heliospectra AB, said. “Given the importance of these crops, we wanted to demonstrate that this is not the case, and at the same time study the spectrum's impact on the crop's development. Our results show that both crops and flower grow well under the right lighting conditions. Even our ongoing studies on wheat looks promising.”

Heliospectra hopes this initial study will help future studies guide the development of sustainable cereal growth using LED lighting.

“The results of this study are encouraging and demonstrate the potential of modern LED lighting. The ability to cultivate staple foods such as oat, barley and wheat efficiently in a controlled environment anywhere in the world not only minimizes the use of water but also gives farmers the opportunity to avoid growing in contaminated soil and water,” Heliospectra CEO Staffan Hillberg said.