Beekenkamp Plants’ R&D team works with GoPro for more insight

A few months ago, the Research & Development team at Beekenkamp Plants started working with a GoPro camera. The main reason why they work with a GoPro is to gain more insight into the development and response of the plant over the days.

In the video below you can see a tomato plant just after the peak moment. At the peak moment, the growing point is broken out of the plant. In this way vegetable plants with 2 or 3 heads can be supplied.

The video shows the R&D department very clearly that the shoots are sprouting, how fast this is going and at what time of the day the plant grows the fastest.

In addition, they can also adjust their own processes to the information from the video. For example, they can see how the crop reacts if SON-T lighting is switched on early in the morning. SON-T lighting is assimilation lighting. This is used to get extra light on the plants when the sun is not strong enough or when the days are short.The video clearly shows the reaction of the plant to sunshine and watering.

The film is set in the winter at the Beekenkamp Plants location in Maasdijk. In total, the GoPro has run 19 days and nights for this project. The video below has been accelerated 8 times.

The results of the videos are discussed with colleagues in the greenhouse. In this way it is fed back to the work field. If there is reason to do so, they have a clear tool in their hands to further optimize their cultivation strategy. If there is a demand from production, the R&D team will set up projects like this more often.