Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68 Page 69 Page 70 Page 71 Page 72 Page 73 Page 74 Page 75 Page 76 Page 77 Page 78 Page 79 Page 80 Page 81 Page 82 Page 83 Page 8412 / SEEDWORLD.COM JANUARY 2017 IN AN EFFORT to grow plants at a faster rate, two men in Georgia — one a physicist and the other a biological and agricultural engineer — formed a horticultural lighting company that literally allows the lights to communicate with plants to determine optimal lighting conditions. In 2013, co-founders Erico Mattos, chief technology officer, and Ryan Hunt, commercial adviser, brought to life PhytoSynthetix in Athens, Ga., to commercialize an innovative technology developed at the University of Georgia during their graduate studies. “We identified an opportunity to apply the biofeed- back lighting control technology — initially developed to improve micro algae production — toward the fast- growing market of vegetables and flowers in controlled environmental agricultural systems,” Mattos says. “We combined a deep understanding of plant physiology with biological engineering to develop a system that allows us to develop lighting solutions based on plants’ photosynthetic parameters. “Our goal is to reduce the operational costs associ- ated with artificial lights and improve controlled envi- ronment agriculture (CEA) facilities management.” PhytoSynthetix specializes in ultra-high perfor- mance LED illumination systems. The technology identifies individual crops’ lighting requirements, and provides the necessary amount of light to ensure fast crop development and maximize biomass production with minimal energy use. Mattos says in CEA facilities, light levels are often arbitrarily chosen with limited control over supple- mental lighting systems, other than turning them on and off. It’s also not known how efficiently plants use artificial light. Energy waste, high electric bills and poor predictability of crop production can result. PhytoSynthetix’s new adaptive LED lights offer energy savings and production predictability. Mattos says the energy savings can be high as 60 percent. LISA KOPOCHINSKI is a writer and editor with extensive experience cover- ing different issues, including horticulture and agriculture, in both Canada and the United States. This Georgia-based horticultural lighting company’s new adaptive LED lights literally communicate with plants to control the amount of light they receive.  COMMUNICATING with PLANTS With the PhytoSynthetix smart lighting system, energy savings can be as high as 60 percent. The LED lights auto adjust based on external light and the plants’ needs for optimum production. With increased production predictability, growers will be able to better plan subsequent crops. How Do Smart Lights Works? Essentially, PhytoSynthetix technology identifies indi- vidual crops’ light requirements and uses an autono- mous LED lighting system to maintain the required light levels, according to external conditions. A biofeedback system monitors plants’ light use efficiency and determines how much light is required to maintain optimum photosynthetic rates. This feedback system is based on chlorophyll fluorescence measure- ments that allow the LED grow light to “communicate” with the plants and adjust its light output to minimize the energy dissipated as heat and optimize photosynthesis.