Agriculture and Agribusiness

Greenhouse and Protected Cultivation Structures

A greenhouse in a hot climate is a heat trap before it is a growing environment, so the design question in this region is almost always how to get heat out rather than how to keep it in. This course starts there. Delegates work through structure types from shade net and tunnels to multispan houses, with the wind and snow free loading conditions that govern structural design here. Covering materials are covered across polyethylene film, polycarbonate and net, with light transmission, diffusion and service life. Ventilation is addressed in detail: natural ventilation, roof and side vent area, and the air exchange needed to hold an acceptable temperature. Evaporative cooling through pad and fan and fogging systems follows, with the humidity consequences. Insect exclusion netting and its ventilation penalty are covered. Irrigation and fertigation infrastructure inside the house are addressed. Climate monitoring and control follow. Structural anchoring and wind damage are covered, since wind loss is the commonest total failure. The course closes on crop hygiene and on costing a structure per square metre.