Analysis of environmental conditions on tomato production in a research greenhouse

Abstract

Tomato production is directly influenced by the environmental conditions. To optimize the production, these factors should be monitored and controlled. The current paper follows a case study of the environmental conditions in an automated research greenhouse located in the USAMV campus in Bucharest, Romania. Three factors were analyzed – inside temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration. A comparison between the optimal conditions and those recorded in the greenhouse was done. The results indicated differences between the optimal factors and the greenhouse values. As such, the highest recorded inside temperature was significantly higher than the optimal one. Significant differences were also found for the relative humidity and CO2 concentration. Ultimately, these translate into a reduced tomato production. Due to the regional climatic conditions, reducing the inside temperature is only achievable through the upgrade of greenhouse equipment. For the USAMV greenhouse, future research should cover the benefits of a heat pump system over the current fossil fuel technology. Recent studies illustrated an increase in crop productivity and energy efficiency in heat pump based greenhouses compared to the traditional heating and cooling options.