Executive Summary
Koidra joined hands with the Canada-based Great Lakes Greenhouse Inc. (GLG) to accelerate the yield of hydroponic cucumber and organic eggplant by 19.8% and 27.6%, respectively in 2022. Utilizing Koidra’s Intelligent Automation Suite (IAS), GLG optimized resource efficiency to achieve environmental sustainability, improve crop quality and yield. The project’s success demonstrates the potentials of AI to revolutionize agriculture and enhance global food supply chains.
Customer Overview
Great Lakes Greenhouse Inc. (GLG) is a leading commercial greenhouse based in Leamington (Ontario, Canada) which has built its reputation on high-quality crop production. Today, it is one of the largest greenhouse operators in North America, especially in the growing of cucumbers and eggplants. GLG owns the full circle of production from growing to packing and marketing its produce. It is committed to improving the greenhouse economy at scale, promoting sustainability and actively seeking out relevant technological advancement. As a trusted solution provider of intelligent automation, Koidra has enabled GLG to improve their crop production methods, delivering even greater value and quality to their customers.
Challenges
The primary challenge was to meet customer demand for cucumbers and eggplants while minimizing energy usage and labor time.
- Deliver exceptional production of sellable cucumbers and eggplants for GLC
- Manage multiple crops from a single dashboard
- Deliver higher yield than what normal growers can do while controlling climate 24/7.
Koidra’s Solution
Koidra’s Intelligent Automation Suite comprises Datapilot and Autopilot Grow:
- Datapilot provides a centralized platform to integrate on-site systems and manage operational data on the cloud. The continuous climate monitoring from a single dashboard allowed for efficient energy use.
- Autopilot Grow takes greenhouse automation to the next level with physics-informed AI technology. The AI system grows plants with the exact same parameters as the grower, ensuring that there is no deviation from what the grower would do.
The Koidra’s autopilot zone and grower’s-controlled zone were set up for trials with cucumbers and eggplants.
- Eggplant trial (April 19 -Oct 25, 2022)
- Cucumber trial (July 18-Oct 18, 2022)
Results & Benefits
Koidra’s Intelligent Automation Suite demonstrated a significant yield increase in both trials.
- Trial 1: Eggplant trial (April 19 -Oct 25, 2022)
- Our solution increased yield to 28.5% compared to the controlled zone.
- The unsellable eggplants were 10% lower compared to the controlled zone.
| Zone | Autopilot (Z1) | Controlled zone (Z2) | Yield difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sellable eggplants (kg/m2) | 21.5 | 16.7 | 28.5% |
| Unsellable eggplants | 1.96% | 2.11% | -0.15% |
- Trial 2: Cucumber trial (July 18-Oct 18, 2022)
- Our solution increased yield to 16% compared to the controlled zone. Autopilot Controlled zone Yield difference Cucumbers (kg/m2) 15.9 13.7 16%
Not only does the Autopilot zone has a higher crop yield, the energy consumption of both zones is the same meaning our Intelligent Automation Suite demonstrated better energy efficiency.
Customer Testimonial
Great Lakes has been working with Koidra over the last couple of years. Koidra has customized a solution that is specific to our system and conditions. Through precision greenhouse management, Great Lakes targets to achieve total efficiency and sustainability. We can rely on Koidra to accelerate timely delivery of business objectives, continuously producing healthy food, and to empower our shareholders. We recognize that Koidra’s technology is the agricultural adaptation for commercial greenhouse.
— Mark Reimer, research and business development manager, Great Lakes Greenhouse Inc.
“Great Lakes Greenhouses Inc, in partnership with Koidra Inc and the Harrow Research and Development Centre, is receiving $547,720 to use artificial intelligence to develop an autonomous grower technology that will enhance environmental sustainability, accelerate transition to year-round production, support crop diversification and improve long-term resiliency and competitiveness of the sector.”
— Ontario’s Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative [source]
“I think any grower is going to have a high degree of skepticism as they’re starting to look at this program. Every grower I’ve ever met has a passion for the industry, and they want to have a real strong understanding of what’s going on in their crops. The trusting of the technology and taking a step away is something that we’ve been able to alleviate by giving them new confidence that the tools are working for them,” Reimer says. “But there’s always a little bit of an innate hesitancy to cede any of that direct control. Over the course of time and developing a program to monitor, understand and utilize the tools, they end up looking at it as more of a valuable tool than a competition.”
— Mark Reimer, research and business development manager, Great Lakes Greenhouse Inc.
“We can see different metrics that Koidra has put together and we can evaluate those and learn from that. With optimization we’re always a yield-first focus, but when we can add a percentage of yield increase, while not increasing our greenhouse footprint, that’s where we really benefit from this technology.”
— Mark Reimer, research and business development manager, Great Lakes Greenhouse Inc.