Hemp is a traditional cash crop, one of the earliest cultivated by humans, and has been an important source of fiber, food and medicine. Along with the gradual legalization of industrial hemp cultivation and its medicinal component CBD use by the United Nations and other countries in Europe and the United States, the global demand for industrial hemp cultivation and CBD products has increased year by year, driving the development of indoor cultivation of industrial hemp, plant factory and even LED plant grow light production.
In recent years, industrial cannabis has been legalized in several countries around the world, with South Korea, the United Kingdom, Germany, Singapore and other countries declaring one after another that they can apply industrial hemp in the medical field, bringing the number of countries to 51. These countries have adopted legislation to make all or part of the acts related to cannabis smoking, possession, cultivation, production, sale or transportation in compliance with the law, the perpetrators of the above acts are not subject to any form of punishment.
The need for industrial hemp plant cultivation
Facility cultivation plays an indispensable and important role in achieving the annual production of horticultural crops and medicinal plants. Compared to open field production, facility cultivation is not subject to climatic conditions, can achieve annual production and scale production, controllable and save arable land resources. Cultivation in plant factories has more development value and is the ultimate model for the development of indoor cultivation. Secondly, through light, temperature and other environmental conditions to improve industrial hemp biomass, especially the production of flowering spikes, and increase the CBD content in the flowering spikes. The production scale of industrial hemp cultivated in plant factories can be controlled, and the risk of proliferation is low. More importantly, industrial hemp as a high value-added cash crop, the implementation of plant factory production can be profitable and economically viable.
Application status of LED plant grow light for industrial hemp plant factory cultivation
Industrial hemp is a plant more suitable for indoor cultivation or plant factory production. Compared with natural light conditions, the overall light level of plant factories is relatively weak, therefore, artificial light supplementation or light environment regulation is the essential technical need, and there is an urgent need for the development of special light-emitting diode LED plant grow light and environmental control systems based on the biological characteristics of industrial hemp. Incandescent, fluorescent, high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps and LED plant grow light have all been used for cannabis production.
Currently, the main light sources used for light environment regulation in plant factories are high-pressure sodium lamps and professional LED grow lights. LED lighting system is ideal light sources for facility horticulture supplemental light and artificial light cultivation because of their excellent photoelectric characteristics such as high luminous efficiency, energy saving, small size, cold light source, long service life and environmental protection. Compared with high-pressure sodium lamp, dimmable LED grow lights have free movement, narrow spectral amplitude, low energy consumption, long life and cold light source, which makes LED plant grow light more popular in indoor cultivation.
R&D prospect of LED lighting system for industrial hemp plant factory cultivation
Domestic and foreign industrial hemp plant cultivation production is the general trend, the demand for plant technology and equipment, especially vertical farming LED lighting is very urgent. Layout of the plant industrial hemp production dedicated LED plant grow light research and development, the launch of the rated power appropriate, spectrally efficient and adjustable, reasonable spatial light vertical farming LED lighting is very necessary and urgent. In the case of strict restrictions on scientific experimental research related to industrial hemp in China, it is necessary to learn and adopt the design concept and experience of professional LED grow lights for horticultural crops such as leafy vegetables in plant factories.
Design principles of LED plant grow light for industrial hemp plant cultivation
The ideal vertical farming LED lighting should meet the needs of the light environment of industrial hemp in all reproductive stages, including light intensity, light quality and light cycle, and have automatic regulation function. According to the natural light plant LED fill light and artificial light plant LED lighting system two categories to design and develop LED plant grow light.
LED plant grow light in natural light factory mainly plays an auxiliary and emergency light-filling function, making up for the deficiency of sunlight in light intensity and spectrum, and realizing high quality and high yield of industrial hemp. Therefore, the design of LED light supplement lamp should focus on spectrum design and automatic control function, so as to ensure the illumination needed for the normal growth of industrial hemp under the stress of low light and insufficient light, and make energy-saving and efficient use of the continuous sunlight.
Conclusion
With the legalization of industrial hemp in more countries, the demand for CBD products will increase sharply, and the improvement of industrial hemp planting efficiency will be crucial. Therefore, it is imperative to cultivate and produce industrial hemp plants on a large scale, and the research and development of LED lighting system is imminent. It is necessary to promote the cooperation between Industry-University-Research, consolidate the research and development foundation of LED lighting system in industrial hemp plants, optimize the design, and introduce LED plant grow light with high photoelectric efficiency, biological light efficiency and space efficiency to meet the production demand of the international market.
Jayes
As a Digital Marketing Manager at AUXGROW, Jayes combines a passion for hydroponic systems and expertise in LED grow lights. With hands-on experience and a deep understanding, Jayes guides you through the world of sustainable cultivation.
