At the Vaillancourt farm, a six-generation family operation, a project as audacious as it is intriguing is unfolding in Laval, Québec: exotic citrus cultivation. Yves, a fine cook and gourmet, bought the first Yuzu trees before his daughter Vyckie realized during her entrepreneurship studies that there was real demand for these kinds of products.
Over 150 trees (a dozen species) later, the whole family developed a passion for exotic citruses. The success of such distinctive cultivation naturally relies on the treatment and patience afforded to the trees, as the first harvest comes only after five years of labor. Considering Québec's rough climate, the other essential criterion is the plant's adaptation to its environment. To compensate for the short periods of sunlight, the Vaillancourt turned to our solution's qualitative and programmable light in order to guarantee fruit quality.
Indeed, the dynamic spectrum smart lighting solution designed by Sollum Technologies enables one to choose and recreate the necessary, personalized and adapted light which gives the plant the feeling that it is exposed to its native climate.
Thanks to the light fixture's flexibility, Vyckie can recreate Japan's sunrise so that the yuzus, kumquats, buddha's hands, calamondins, kaffir limes and others feel at home. The Sollum teams prepare bluer light recipes for the beginning of the trees' annual growth cycle and redder recipes for the flowering and fruit production.
“I noticed that the flower sowings were quicker to take root and their colors intensified. They became more vivid,” indicated Vyckie Vaillancourt. “As for the citrus trees, to our great surprise they flowered earlier and produced more flowers than usual,” she added.
Every morning, Vyckie uses our cloud-based SUN as a Service® platform to adapt the rate of sunlight to the day's specific needs in all simplicity. Simplicity is this family's watchword as they continue to meet and sell directly to consumers from their kiosk, always happy to share tips and recipes.
