Lighting the way to the future
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EmailGreenhouses require lighting and the Michigan State University Extension floriculture team offer regional meetings and online courses on greenhouse and horticulture lighting.
The market for greenhouse-grown ornamentals has become increasingly competitive, reducing grower profitability and increasing the need to cut operating costs. As crop margins continue to decrease, energy costs are becoming a grower’s largest expenses. Michigan State University Extension assists ornamental plant growers in finding methods to reduce energy costs while still producing high-quality plants.
Using supplemental lighting is essential in greenhouses to increase crop quality and control flowering of some crops. In fact, 72 percent of greenhouse facilities use high-pressure sodium lamps for supplemental lighting of crops. To address this concern, the MSU Extension floriculture team offered three regional meetings and an online course on greenhouse and horticultural lighting:
- 101 greenhouse growers (representing 3.3 million square feet) attended from eight Michigan counties.
- Attendees reported the information learned was worth over $100,000 to their businesses.
- Over half of the greenhouse growers (42 acres) who responded to the postsurvey made a change in their facilities as a result of the information they learned.
