HIGH DENSITY CULTIVATION, SOLAR ENERGY AND DOUBLE POLYETHYLENE SHELTERING TO IMPROVE THE TOMATO PRODUCTION IN APRIL IN TUNISIA

The production of tomatoes in greenhouses in Tunisia in April without using a heating system is very low and the fruits are of a bad quality.

Heating ordinary greenhouses with fuel is too expensive.
A double wall of polyethylene does increase the minimum air temperature with 2°C but temperature can still drop below the crucial level to ensure a normal developpement of plants and fruits.

The use of radiant mulch ( sunstock system ) only gives good results when combined with a screen and an outside captor.

To produce more and better fruits in April, an experiment has begun in 1983, at the ‘ Station d’Appui de Nebhana ‘ at Monastir ( Tunisia ), using a ‘ sunstock ‘ system in a double wall plastic greenhouse in which the tomatoes were planted at a high density.

Symposium on Protected Cultivation of Solanacea in Mild Winter Climates

B. De Muynck, R. Vandevelde, A. Mougou, H. verlodt

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1986.191.27