Articles
GREENHOUSE STRUCTURE AND EQUIPMENT FOR IMPROVING CROP PRODUCTION IN MILD WINTER CLIMATES
Article number
491_4
Pages
37 – 48
Language
Abstract
Greenhouse production in mild winter climates requires specific design of greenhouses and environmental control equipment.
The main problems to solve are related not only to climate control during winter, but also to excess of heat and inadequate humidity during the rest of the year (mainly late spring and summer). The growers need a production tool that allows avoidance of strong environmental stress or diseases inside their greenhouses.
In developing countries, most greenhouse structures and equipment are designed and chosen mainly to cope with the constraint of low investment and running costs, and consequently are very rudimentary and low-performing.
On the other hand, a sophisticated control of the greenhouse environment during the whole year is very expensive and, in most cases, the added investment cannot be supported by the farmers of these countries.
Therefore, the problem is to find a compromise between the agronomic performance of the greenhouse production system and the corresponding increase in costs, which has to be compatible with the financial capacity of the farmers.
This paper addresses this problem by first outlining the basic requirements that have to fulfilled in greenhouses designed for crop production in mild winter climates.
Some considerations are made about the requirements on shape and size of the greenhouse and the choice of covering material.
Then, special attention is given to additional equipment that is cost-effective in improving the greenhouse environment, like thermal and shading screens, evaporative cooling or passive solar systems.
Finally, the way the farmers manage both the greenhouse environment and the crop is discussed.
It is concluded that the use of higher performing greenhouses is of little value if not accompanied by education and training of growers.
The development of decision support systems that can educate and assist the grower in controlling the environment and crop behaviour could be a solution in the near future for improving greenhouse crop yield and quality in mild-winter climates.
The main problems to solve are related not only to climate control during winter, but also to excess of heat and inadequate humidity during the rest of the year (mainly late spring and summer). The growers need a production tool that allows avoidance of strong environmental stress or diseases inside their greenhouses.
In developing countries, most greenhouse structures and equipment are designed and chosen mainly to cope with the constraint of low investment and running costs, and consequently are very rudimentary and low-performing.
On the other hand, a sophisticated control of the greenhouse environment during the whole year is very expensive and, in most cases, the added investment cannot be supported by the farmers of these countries.
Therefore, the problem is to find a compromise between the agronomic performance of the greenhouse production system and the corresponding increase in costs, which has to be compatible with the financial capacity of the farmers.
This paper addresses this problem by first outlining the basic requirements that have to fulfilled in greenhouses designed for crop production in mild winter climates.
Some considerations are made about the requirements on shape and size of the greenhouse and the choice of covering material.
Then, special attention is given to additional equipment that is cost-effective in improving the greenhouse environment, like thermal and shading screens, evaporative cooling or passive solar systems.
Finally, the way the farmers manage both the greenhouse environment and the crop is discussed.
It is concluded that the use of higher performing greenhouses is of little value if not accompanied by education and training of growers.
The development of decision support systems that can educate and assist the grower in controlling the environment and crop behaviour could be a solution in the near future for improving greenhouse crop yield and quality in mild-winter climates.
Publication
Authors
A. Baille
Keywords
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