AFRICAN JOURNAL OF BIOTECHNOLOGY, vol.8, no.20, pp.5436-5444, 2009 (SCI-Expanded)
During summer periods, high temperature values that are being formed in greenhouses can greatly influence the efficiency of production workers and also decrease the productivity of plants grown there. A greenhouse production without the cooling systems can be sustained at the desirable level by imposing summer restrictions in the areas with warm climate, and by starting cooling in the areas with cold climate. A statement can be made regarding both utility and efficiency of fan-pad cooling systems that they tend to go up in the areas with low relative air humidity. The present study has been carried out in order to either prove or disprove this statement. We have attempted to create a map of internal greenhouse temperature distribution via determining the system's efficiency. As a result of this study, it was determined that since air temperature and relative humidity in the air tend to decrease during summer months by using fan-pad cooling system, temperatures in the greenhouse can be consequently lowered down to 10-12 degrees C. Statistical analysis revealed remarkable differences (p<0.01) between the temperatures at various points in greenhouses observed.