CALI Successfully Holds the "Smart Agricultural Lighting Innovation Forum"

On October22, the "Smart Agricultural Lighting Innovation Forum" was successfully held during the Guzhen Lighting Fair. The forum was hosted by the China Association of Lighting Industry and the Zhongshan Guzhen Town Productivity Promotion Center, organized by the CALI Agricultural Lighting Professional Committee, the CALI Luminaires Professional Committee, Zhongshan Guzhen Lighting Capital Expo Co., Ltd., Agricultural Lighting Network, and China Light Network, with strong support from the Changzhou Zhonglou Economic Development Zone in Jiangsu and Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd. It attracted experts from lighting and agricultural industry-related institutions across the country, as well as representatives from agricultural cultivation, plant lighting, and smart lighting enterprises — approximately 200 attendees. The forum focused on new research, applications, and technologies in plant lighting, bringing all parties together to tackle challenges and promote the rapid popularization and development of LED plant lighting.

Wen Qidong, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Lighting Industry, attended the forum and delivered an address; the forum was moderated by Hong Bing, Secretary-General of the CALI Agricultural Lighting Professional Committee and Editor-in-Chief of Agricultural Lighting Network.

Wen Qidong, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of Lighting Industry

Hong Bing, Secretary-General of the Agricultural Lighting Committee of the China Association of Lighting Industry, Editor-in-Chief of Agricultural Lighting Network

Professor Liu Houcheng from the Department of Protected Agriculture Science and Engineering, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University, delivered a keynote speech titled "New Progress in Plant Lighting Research," sharing his insights from three perspectives: light and plant growth, plant growth responses to different light environments, and reflections on plant lighting. Light quality can affect many physiological processes of plants, playing a particularly important role in photosynthesis and photomorphogenesis. The rational use of specific light waves helps improve the nutritional quality of vegetables. With the ongoing development of plant photobiology research, the theoretical foundation of plant lighting application technology is constantly being strengthened and improved. Various technologies and products related to LED plant lighting are being widely applied in the production practice of protected horticulture.

Professor Liu Houcheng from the Department of Protected Agriculture Science and Engineering, College of Horticulture, South China Agricultural University

Professor Wang Yi from the School of Applied Physics and Materials at Wuyi University gave a speech titled "LED Biological Design and Intelligent Control of Plant Growth Lighting." Several key growth hormones that affect plant growth (chlorophyll, carotenoids, phycocyanin, etc.) have significantly different light absorption spectra. Therefore, Professor Wang Yi believes that the design and application of LED plant growth lights is not a simple matter, but rather highly targeted. He pointed out that there are currently some misconceptions in many light designs and applications. For the two situations of all-weather indoor lighting use and outdoor supplemental lighting for plant growth, LED plant growth lights should be designed with different solutions. There are also some factors to consider in the installation and use of the lights, such as the distance between the light and the plant, the irradiation range of the light, and how to coordinate with normal water, fertilizer, soil, etc.

Professor Wang Yi from the School of Applied Physics and Materials at Wuyi University

Xu Dong, Director of Foshan Haoliang Solid State Light Source Research Institute, gave a speech on 'Construction Specifications for Artificial Light-Type Plant Factories'. Currently, plant factories are all self-designed, without standardized design rules, leading to high costs, poor functionality, and incomplete technical content. Therefore, Director Xu Dong proposed formulating construction specifications for plant factories. Not long ago, the Shenzhen Facility Agriculture Industry Association released the latest standard 'T/SZFAA 03-2019 Construction Specifications for Artificial Light-Type Plant Factories', which he primarily participated in drafting. It covers main contents including construction specifications for plant factories, equipment specifications, planting specifications, electrical safety specifications, quality specifications, packaging and transportation specifications, factory quality guarantee period, and third-party confirmation specifications. This technical specification is an important technical standard for plant factory construction, has received wide attention, has strong applicability, helps promote the development of plant factories, and shapes and improves the quality level of the industry.

Xu Dong, Director of Foshan Haoliang Solid State Light Source Research Institute

The speech topic of Lei Xunjin, Application Technology Manager of Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd., was 'Plant Lighting Market Prospects and LED Application Solutions'. He brought the participants rich content regarding the market prospects of LED plant lighting, technical indicator requirements, application solutions, and the effects of light on plants. Manager Lei said that many international lighting giant companies have entered the plant lighting market, and China will become the next emerging plant lighting market. He also interpreted the technical requirements of different standards for plant lighting fixtures and the parameter regulations that need to be measured. In addition, he shared the different effects of UV, blue light, red light, deep red light, and far-red light on plants.

Lei Xunjin, Application Technology Manager of Seoul Semiconductor Co., Ltd.

The speech topic of Zhao Jianyu, Chairman of Zhongshan Shanzai Agriculture and Forestry Technology Co., Ltd., was 'Home Horticultural Psychotherapy'. Zhao Jianyu provided an in-depth exposition on the novel topic of 'horticultural therapy', introducing the characteristics, objectives and targets, and efficacy of home horticultural psychotherapy. Horticultural therapy is an effective method that uses plant planting and horticultural operation activities to adjust and renew from social, educational, psychological, and physical aspects. It has a great effect on alleviating the physical and mental problems of modern people, while home horticultural therapy does not require large capital investments to purchase instruments and build facilities like hospital construction does, and the cost is relatively low. Insufficient indoor lighting prevents plants from growing normally, and with the development of plant lighting technology, more and more people can grow plants at home.

Zhao Jianyu, Chairman of Zhongshan Shanzai Agriculture and Forestry Technology Co., Ltd.

Chen Guangcai, R&D Manager of Guangdong Lüai Biotechnology Co., Ltd., delivered a speech on the topic "Challenges of Plant Lighting." Chen Guangcai put forward the view that plant lighting has always been a systematic engineering endeavor, rather than merely about luminaires. Plant lighting is characterized by its multi-disciplinary nature (the intersection of optics, agronomy, botany, electronics and other disciplines), complexity of factors (numerous plant growth factors and complex light recipes), high experimental difficulty (diversity of species, diversity of scenarios, etc.), and multiple evaluation criteria (plant lighting standards, growth and development effect standards, etc.), which pose significant challenges to systematic research and the industrialization of plant lighting.

Chen Guangcai, R&D Manager of Guangdong Lüai Biotechnology Co., Ltd.

The "Smart Agricultural Lighting Innovation Forum" aims to provide an excellent platform for experts and practitioners in the fields of agriculture and lighting to exchange and discuss ideas, gathering wisdom from all sides to jointly address the new challenges in the development of modern agriculture and plant lighting. The holding of the forum is of practical significance for promoting the sharing of knowledge and information such as photobiology, as well as for the promotion and application of LED plant lighting technologies and related control systems.