PREDICTING PRODUCTIVITY IN THE GREENHOUSE ENVIRONMENT

Though the current and forseeable energy future in Europe, as elsewhere, calls for energy conservation in protected cultivation, the fact remains that assured production of needed vegetables, fruits and ornamental plants at a high level of yield is the primary objective.

One general question that can be posed for debate is whether the increased energy cost of transportation and distribution will actually increase local markets for produce from local plant enclosures.

A second general question of great potential significance within the European economic sphere is whether the cost-effectiveness of plant enclosures and of the energy required to maintain a productive environment is inherently greater in the Southern latitudes as compared to the Northern ones.

Both matters go beyond the scope of this symposium, as they involve more than horticultural science and technology.

Optimalisation of Plant Growth under Protected Cultivation through Microclimate Control

C.H.M. van Bavel

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1981.107.11