Stable Greenhouse Environment, Better Quality Control

Your crop production can become highly accelerated through the use of greenhouse environment control system or automation. With this form of environmental control the greenhouse stays constant to provide optimal conditions that are most favorable for maximum yield.

A plant’s ability to grow and develop is dependent mainly on Photosynthesis. In the presence of light, the plant combines carbon dioxide and water to form sugars which are then utilized for growth and flower/fruit production.

Management of the greenhouse environment is directed at optimizing the photosynthetic process in the plants, the plant’s ability to utilize light at maximum efficiency.

 

Greenhouse Lighting Control

There’s a lot more to greenhouse lighting than meets the eye. Growers in search of the appropriate lighting for their greenhouse should consider the following three factors: the type of crop being grown, what time of year it is and how much sunlight is available.

Greenhouses generally require six hours of direct or full spectrum light each day. If this can’t be done naturally, supplemental lighting must be incorporated. Supplemental lighting is the use of multiple, high-intensity artificial lights to promote crop growth and yield. Hobbyists like to use them to maintain growth and extend the grow season, whereas commercial growers use them to boost yields and profits.

Growers have a wide array of lighting options to pick from, so it’s important to understand the nuances of differing lighting styles. Again this becomes easier to manage with greenhouse environmental controls that can be scheduled and monitored.

 

Humidity Control

As plants begin to increase their rate of growth, you’ll want to lower humidity slowly to encourage transpiration, which allows more water to flow through the plant. As the plant consumes more water, the elongated cells fill and bring nutrients up to the growing parts of the plant.

Humidity should also be watched carefully because if gets too high in greenhouses, plant leaves stand a much better chance of getting wet. Wet leaves, unfortunately, is one of the best ways to ensure a fungal infection or an outbreak of mildew. Fungal diseases such as the Botrytis pathogen or powdery mildew are common greenhouse culprits. To monitor and control the greenhouse environment means better quality control.

 

Ventilation & Fan Control

Another easy way to help regulate temperature and humidity is the use of vents. With the use of rack and pinons and ventilation control, you can trigger the greenhouse vents to open at a set temperature if it starts to get to hot.

Also we are measuring the relative humidity (the amount of water vapor present in air expressed as a percentage of the amount needed for saturation.) which can also be lowered by opening the vents. Warm dry air and not wet.

We can also trigger horizontal air flow fans with greenhouse control systems. These improve circulation of air and help to expel humidity out of the air. It becomes necessary to increase the greenhouse temperatures for a proper balance.

With the use of proper greenhouse temperature and humidity sensors, this is all controlled through our greenhouse automation computer. This will help you to monitor and regulate humidity and temp levels more effectively. Our grower approved greenhouse environmental control software ensures all levels stay in check.

 

Carbon Dioxide or Co2 Control

Delivering plenty of carbon dioxide to your plants is essential for healthy plant growth. Plants take carbon from the air as is an essential component of photosynthesis. Carbon dioxide enters into the plant through the stomatal openings by the process of diffusion.

CO₂ increases productivity through improved plant growth and overall health. Some ways in which productivity is increased by CO₂ include earlier flowering, higher fruit yields and longer growth cycles.

Getting into some of the more technical math here, but for the majority of greenhouse crops, net photosynthesis increases as CO₂ levels increase from 340–1,000 ppm (parts per million).

Most crops show that for any given level of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), increasing the CO₂ level to 1,000 ppm will increase the photosynthesis by about 50% over ambient CO₂ levels.

Stay in quality control guidelines with our greenhouse climate control system to properly control CO₂ ranges.

 

Air Temperature Control

Increasing air temperature will increase the rate of photosynthesis to a point. However, above 85 degrees, plants go into photorespiration. Which is not optimal for growing, plants will start to wither.

Moreover, if you don’t match the higher air temperatures with higher levels of carbon dioxide and light intensity, your plants will be doing more photorespiration than photosynthesis. Which will take an enormous toll on your plants’ health.

At a certain point, enzymes won’t perform their functions and will fall apart, and your plants won’t establish a healthy metabolism. In all things balance is key, with our greenhouse temperature control system.

 

Regular Irrigation and Fertilizers – Fertigation Control

We like to a regular irrigation and nutrient feed formula for crops in the greenhouse. In today’s large commercial operations this is where fertigation automation can not only help out, but help you out preform all other farms.

Fertigation constantly applies water and fertilizers at precise amounts through the irrigation system. This supplying of nutrients required by the crops helps keep yields at their best.

Fertigation is especially useful in the case of drip irrigation. With our automated fertigation equipment the water and the nutrients are absorbed directly into the roots. Improving the rate of growth, resilience and quality of the crops.

This system is a more rational use of water and fertilizers. I think respecting the environment and minimizing the environmental impact is something we can all get behind. We can also use a greenhouse water recycling system to ensure your crops safety.

 

Complete Greenhouse Automation

Automation can play a huge role in your greenhouse environment and making quality indoor growing manageable. At Climate Control Systems Inc, we have been helping growers stay profitable for over 35 years.

Our control technology enables growers to program their own growing environment how they’d like. Any changes in growing conditions can be quickly corrected through automation.  With our advanced IIOT certified systems growers can monitor their indoor growing environment from their smartphones or laptops.

 

 

This technology has been at the cornerstone of profitable growers who need to lower energy, labour and fertilizer costs. All this plus, maximizing crop yields and the return on investment for new growing technology.

For more information on how this technology can benefit your greenhouse operation please contact one of our greenhouse engineers here.