Comparison of photosynthetic rates, transpiration rates, and total conductance of greenhouse-grown tomato plants measured with two open chambers with different ventilation rates

Abstract

A real-time monitoring system was developed and applied to monitor the time course of photosynthesis and transpiration in fully-grown tomato plants in a semi-commercial greenhouse. The system was based on an open chamber method in which the ventilator airflow rate is an important parameter affecting the environmental factors in the chamber and physiological response of plants enclosed inside the chamber. So, we assumed that the effects of this parameter on these responses should be evaluated for an agricultural production site. In this study, we investigated differences in the environmental factors in the chamber and physiological response of whole-tomato plants obtained from two chambers (0.5 m [W]×1.0 m [D]×2.2 m [H]) implemented with a single ventilator (SV, 0.36 m3 min-1) or double ventilators (DV, 0.72 m3 min-1). The relative humidity and vapor pressure deficit inside the SV chamber were about 10% higher and 0.5 kPa lower than those inside the DV chamber because of the difference in air exchange rates. However, we found no significant effect of airflow rate on net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and total conductance of the plants in the SV and DV chambers by analyzing with weighted Deming regression. This simultaneous monitoring method, undertaken in multiple chambers, and weighted Deming regression analysis can be used to check whether measurement conditions are appropriate for on-site monitoring.