The innovative horticultural sector extensively employs smart digital automation technology to ensure sustainable and efficient production processes. Digital process control provides numerous opportunities for vegetable and flower crop breeding companies.
KWS Vegetables B.V. in Wageningen (NL) has constructed a series of climate chambers in accordance with the latest standards.
Cucumber greenhouse
KWS Vegetables is actively engaged in ongoing research to optimize seed growth methods. The focus of their research includes the development of double haploid lines for peppers and cucumbers, aiming to enhance the speed and efficiency of breeding processes significantly.
In this success story, KWS Vegetables has incorporated cutting-edge climate technology from Van den Berg in Reeuwijk, in addition to the PLC and automation technology provided by JUMO. With over 30 years of successful experience, Van den Berg specializes in climate rooms, including germination chambers, climate cabinets, and drying cabinets.
At KWS Vegetables, the climate chambers are divided into five compartments, each tailored to specific research requirements, resulting in varying quantities used. In the first two rooms, regulation of temperature, humidity, and lighting is imperative. Notably, the decision was made to control the lighting using the 0-10V system. Leveraging the real-time clock functionality, KWS Vegetables can easily program a customizable day and night cycle.
In the remaining three rooms, in addition to temperature, humidity, and lighting, CO2 levels also require regulation. To achieve comprehensive control over the entire climate chamber, KWS Vegetables has implemented the latest JUMO variTRON automation system, incorporating advanced PLC technology.
Example smartWARE-SCADA Cloud solution
Process view Webcockpit Van den Berg KWS
KWS Vegetables uses the JUMO IoT platform to ensure the secure recording and archiving of process values. The versatile JUMO variTRON system features a control mode, digital IO modules, and a PLC (CODESYS V3.5) with a Quadcore processor. This setup facilitates flexible communication through Modbus TCP, OPC UA server, and MQTTS, ensuring efficient and reliable data exchange in their operational processes.
Thanks to the utilization of PLC and automation technology from JUMO, KWS has tailored visual representations for its diverse climate chambers. The system ensures the secure acquisition, visualization, evaluation, and storage of data. With the JUMO Cloud ensuring encrypted communication, KWS gains continuous, real-time access to growth process insights 24/7. This can be conveniently accessed through a web browser on any smartphone, tablet, or PC.
