Fabrication of Artificial Lighting System for Orchid Culture

Abstract

As a replacement to conventional lighting system, LED has been demonstrated to be an artificial lighting source for controlled environment agriculture. LED lighting systems have a number of advantages over other lamps currently used in the controlled environment agriculture. One is the ability to control the spectral output of the lighting system, which something not easily done with broad spectrum sources like florescent lamps or other lamps. The ability to control the spectral output can also be used to influence the plant morphology. Special lighting modes might possibly even be used to enhance disease or injury visualization. The LED lighting systems can be configured to produce very high light levels (well in excess of full sunlight if desired), but even at high\ light outputs, they can be operated in close proximity to plant tissue because they have very low radiant heat output when cooled properly by suitable methods. LEDs have a very long\ operating life; current LED technologies are rated as maintaining 70% of their original*\ luminous output after 50,000*h, and this is probably a constant number as long as the devices are cooled\ properly by suitable methods.

In Orchid Flowering Culture, two types of flowering techniques are used, single story and multi- story. When using artificial lighting, uniformity and constant quality of the light spectrum is

very important for a constant quality of flower production. By varying light intensity and color ratio, the best recipe for the orchids was found. The growth of a plant is strongly determined by the total number of photons that it absorbs in the PAR region. In winter there is often too little natural light for plants to grow and continue to produce good flowers and fruits. Orchids like a lot of light, but they do not like direct sunlight. Using artificial lighting for orchids gives you the advantage of being able to control the light better and apply strong light that is not as strong as sunlight. Lack of flowering in common household orchids is often a problem of low light conditions. LED circuits can be designed in series or in parallel positions. Several LEDs can be connected at the same time in a series. Such a design prolongs the battery life by lighting several LEDs with the same current as just one LED. So we prefer series connected LED circuit panels.