Optimal CO2 enrichment considering emission from soil for cucumber greenhouses

Optimal CO2 enrichment considering emission from soil for cucumber greenhouses

2012

A:PS

Reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) exhaust has become a major issue for society in the last few years, especially since the initial release of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 that strictly limited the emissions of greenhouse gas for each country. One of the primary sectors affecting the levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases is agriculture where CO2 is not only consumed by plants but also produced from various types of soil and agricultural ecosystems including greenhouses. In greenhouse cultivation, CO2 concentration plays an essential role in the photosynthesis process of crops. Optimum control of greenhouse CO2 enrichment based on accurate monitoring of the added CO2 can improve profitability through efficient crop production and reduce environmental impact, compared to traditional management practices. In this study, a sensor-based control system that could estimate the required CO2 concentration considering emission from soil for cucumber greenhouses was developed and evaluated. The relative profitability index (RPI) was defined by the ratio of growth rate to supplied CO2. RPI for a greenhouse controlled at lower set point of CO2 concentration (500 umol. mol-1) was greater than that of greenhouse at higher set point (800 umol. mol-1). Evaluation tests to optimize CO2 enrichment concluded that the developed control system would be applicable not only to minimize over-exhaust of CO2 but also to maintain the crop profitability.

30(5):501-508, KOREAN JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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