Application of the climograph for the greenhouse plan of subtropical and tropical regions

Abstract

The technological levels of greenhouse influence significantly the yields of the crop production and increase the investment cost. The balance between the development of the technological level and the achieving of the increased crop production in the controlled environment is always the primary concern. In this study, the climograph was obtained by plotting the mean minimum monthly temperature versus mean maximum monthly temperature. This climagraph was combined at the optimum temperature ranges of three fruit vegetables and a simple microclimate model was introduced to evaluate the controlling performance of internal air temperature in greenhouses. In subtropical areas, seven locations were selected in order to demonstrate the application of the climograph for the cultivation of species. The rotation of temperate and thermophile plant in Yulin, Taiwan was proposed. Melon, as the thermophile crop, was the only crop that could be cultivated in greenhouses in the two locations of low land areas. The results in three locations of high land areas indicated that all temperate vegetables were suited well to be cultivated in these areas. Thus, the significant highlight of this method was that it could also be successfully used for other species at different locations for the greenhouse production to reduce the energy consumption.