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Plant Empowerment hosts its first US training in Philadelphia

On September 22, Plant Empowerment brought growers, consultants and horticultural professionals together in Philadelphia for its first US training, held ahead of GreenTech North America. Throughout the day, participants explored practical ways to improve crop performance by understanding the interactions between greenhouse climate, water, light and plant activity.

Published: October 5, 2026

Topics and key takeaways

The training combined the principles of Plant Empowerment with practical examples, real-world data and interactive discussions. Experienced specialists shared their knowledge and helped participants connect growing conditions to decisions they can apply in their own greenhouses.

René Beerkens and Evripidis Papadopoulos opened the day by introducing the fundamentals of Plant Empowerment and discussing greenhouse climate management. Topics included identifying limiting factors, managing thermal radiation, using screens and heating strategies, and monitoring dew point with appropriate sensors.

Water quality was the focus of the second session. Ruud Schulte explored common challenges growers face and discussed potential solutions with participants, creating plenty of room for questions and the exchange of practical experience.

The sessions on light and climate brought these topics together. Amos Bassi explained how growers can assess light use efficiency and understand how effectively their crops convert available light into production. Using calculation examples, he translated the theory into practical tools for growers. Evripidis then took a deeper look at the ratio between temperature and radiation (RTR), working with participants to explore strategies for different growing conditions.

Paul van Gils closed the technical sessions with real-world examples of how greenhouse coatings and screens can influence plant temperature and sap flow. By connecting these examples to data and growers’ own experiences, he demonstrated how these systems can contribute to crop management.

A grower’s experience: putting Plant Empowerment into practice

The day concluded with a grower sharing his company’s experience of implementing Plant Empowerment over several years. His story highlighted the strategic decisions, learning experiences and challenges involved in applying the approach in practice, as well as the results achieved along the way.

The discussion reinforced an important message: improving crop performance is rarely about adjusting just one greenhouse factor. It requires understanding how light, temperature, water and plant processes interact, and using that knowledge to make more informed growing decisions.

Positive feedback and valuable discussions

The evaluation results reflected the value participants placed on the training. Knowledge level, organisation and overall experience each received an average score of 4.8 out of 5. Participants particularly appreciated the technical expertise, practical examples and opportunities to discuss real greenhouse challenges with consultants and fellow growers.

Their feedback also provides direction for future training sessions, with interest in more North American and crop-specific examples, practical case studies, climate control strategies, humidity management and irrigation.

Plant Empowerment would like to thank all participants, trainers and partners who contributed to this first US training. The day marked an important step in sharing practical, data-driven growing knowledge with the North American horticultural community.