Education Zone

We at W.S. Bentley's use our knowledge of photosynthesis to grow crops to a required specification.

The enviroment in which the crops are grown can be altered to increase and decrease the speed of photosynthesis, allowing us to keep the produce as fresh as possible and grown to the customers required length.

How we control photosynthesis.

	Data recording units dotted around the greenhouse provide us with information on the enviroment. The information is fed to a computer and readouts such as temperature,and humidity are displayed.
	The operator sets the desired temperatures after assesing the crop. If the crop is growing slowly, the operator may decide to increase the temperature to speed its growth. The computer controls vents and heaters in the greenhouse to maintain the desired temperature.
	Irrigation booms are used to water the crops. The operator decides the level of water the seedlings need, and waters appropriatley. Water is essential for photosynthesis, if the crop does not recieve enough water the growth will be poor.
	If a crop is growing slowly due to poor light levels, slowing photosynthesis. The operator can set lights to come on for set periods. The lights are mainly used in winter when the number of hours of light are less, turning the lights on during the night allows photosynthesis to take place. whilst plants in the wild have to wait till the day to continue to produce the glucose they need to grow.

For more information about W.S. Bentley Growers or to discover more about our salad cress growing operation, telephone 01274 851 214 or complete our online contact form.