At PARC, a team of agronomists, engineers and photobiologists bridges the gap between growers’ needs and research, ensuring that every discovery has practical value for horticulture. Four dedicated research rooms allow us to work across a wide range of crops, from ornamentals and young plants to high-wire vegetables. Since 2022, the center has already carried out close to forty trials, each designed to create targeted lighting strategies that improve both plant performance and production efficiency.

High wire trials

Among these programs is our research on high-wire cucumbers, which lasted three years to test every environment and circumstance. The objective was to better understand how different light spectra influence plant morphology, growth and especially yield. This work traces back to 2019, when growers observed that the market-standard fixed spectrum (5% blue, 5% white, 90% red) produced weak, yellowing cucumber plants, especially during the darkest months. Leaves curled and showed signs of light avoidance, limiting crop potential.

In contrast, dynamic lighting strategies, where the spectrum is adjusted over the course of the day, have shown remarkable improvements. By increasing the proportion of blue and far-red light, relative to red top light, plant architecture becomes more compact, leaves spread flat to capture available light and overall vigor improves significantly. Over multiple years of trials, this approach has delivered harvest increases exceeding 20% compared to conventional fixed-spectrum lighting, not with higher energy use, but with less.

MyRED, RED’s patented software

Thanks to RED’s patented software, MyRED™, energy is applied more intelligently, reducing consumption while enhancing crop performance. This principle of combining higher yields with greater efficiency is taken even further with our Smart Dimming technology.

These results highlight a crucial insight: plant morphology is decisive in achieving high and consistent yields. By tailoring light recipes to optimize crop architecture, PARC researchers are helping growers unlock higher performance while reducing energy consumption. Cucumbers, highly sensitive to light quality, illustrate just how powerful dynamic lighting can be.