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Residents of the Swedish city of Trelleborg have seen the sky above them turn strangely purple. It happened in early November, several times, at dusk. The darkness suddenly lit up in an unusual color, with a violet tint, much to the surprise of the 43,000 inhabitants of this southern Swedish city. Immediately, the phenomenon triggered a wave of reactions.
But it was not a mysterious meteorological phenomenon, as many believed, but the effect of a … new agricultural method! Ten minutes from the city, a new type of lighting is used for tomato crops.
Illuminated tomatoes “SF”
If in summer the night lasts only a few hours in Sweden, in winter the sun sets quickly, in the early afternoon, and farmers have to light their greenhouses to provide the plants with the light necessary for good development. But generally, apart from “light pollution” caused by the massive illumination of the fields, no strange colors had been observed in the sky.
To find the origin of the purple color in the sky of Trelleborg, you must leave the city and go to Gislöv, a commune 7 kilometers away. There a new type of lighting is used to encourage the cultivation of tomatoes.
In order to reduce energy consumption in particular, local farmers have decided to forgo their classic greenhouse lighting systems and opt for a new system based on LEDs with violet light.
Every night, the device turns on and casts a violet light on one of the largest tomato crops in Sweden. Not only would it be an advantage for plants, but LED lighting would also stimulate higher production, as Svt Nyheter television reported.
The problem is that when the water evaporates and the low, thick clouds float in the atmosphere, the light reflects off a large area of the atmosphere and thus the purple “light” from the sky.
The locals are upset
But residents of the area, from Gislöv to Trelleborg, complain that the light reaches their homes. So, starting on November 6, farmers started turning off the LED lights between 17:00 and 23:00.
Trelleborg’s environmental manager, Mikael Norén, said producers were asked for a solution and a broader plan to avoid further inconvenience to the locals.
Homeowners are now looking for solutions so that the new LED method, which should have saved them energy and improved tomato production, won’t upset anyone. In a statement, they announced that they would stop “growing tomatoes overnight”, seeking other solutions. For them it is a step backwards, but the intention was not to upset the locals, the peasants assured.
Editor: Luana Pavaluca
