Energy productivity of the tomato greenhouse production

Abstract

The aim of this research was to define tomato greenhouse production regarding the energy consumption in order to find the critical points in the energy flow, that can be eliminated or their influence reduced by choosing the adequate type of construction, production technology and culture that will be produced. Energy parameters were determined for four different greenhouse constructions. On the basis of tomato yield, production output and the energy input (fuel, electricity, straw, fertilizer, plant protection chemicals, water, human labor, technical systems), specific energy input, energy output-input ratio and energy productivity were estimated. Results show that the lowest energy consumption was obtained for gutter connected greenhouse with two bays, 21.96 MJ/m2. The highest energy consumption was measured for the tunnel structure, 26.87 MJ/m2. The highest tomato yield was obtained in multispan greenhouse with thirteen bays, 35.81 kg/m2. As for the energy parameters, the highest energy input was measured for the tunnel structure, 1.55 MJ/kg while the lowest was obtained in multi-span greenhouse with thirteen bays, 0.65 MJ/kg. The highest energy ratio was calculated for the multi-span greenhouse with thirteen bays, 1.23 as well as the highest energy productivity, 1.55 kg/MJ.

Keywords

• tomato
• greenhouses
• energy
• energy productivity