scholarly journals Yields and Economics of High Tunnels for Production of Warm-season Vegetable Crops

2003 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 339-343 ◽  
Author(s):  
Doug Waterer
Keyword(s):  
Commodity Prices ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Multiple Cropping ◽  
Capital Costs ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Production Area ◽  
Cropping Seasons ◽  
Low Tunnels

Crop development rates, yields and production economics for muskmelon (Cucumis melo), pepper (Capsicum annuum) and tomato (Lycopersicon lycopersicum) grown in high tunnels [4.3 m wid × 2.5 m high × 29 m long (14 × 8 × 96 ft)] were compared to standard low tunnels over several cropping seasons in a temperate production area. The polyethylene-covered high tunnels protect several rows of crop for the duration of the cropping season. Air temperatures in the high tunnels were controlled by raising the sides of the tunnel. Low tunnels cover only a single row and must be removed soon after the crop is established to prevent overcrowding or overheating. When the low tunnels were in place, rates of accumulation of growing-degree days (GDDs) and early crop growth were comparable in the two tunnel systems. However, once the low tunnels were removed, the accumulation of GDDs in the high tunnels exceeded the standard system. The crops in the high tunnels matured 1 to 2 weeks earlier and produced substantially greater fruit yields before frost than in the low tunnel treatments. The high tunnels provided little frost protection and were of limited utility for extension of the growing season. The high tunnels were much more costly to purchase and construct than the low tunnels but were durable enough to be used for multiple cropping seasons. Based on wholesale commodity prices, it would take 2 to 5 years for the enhanced gross returns obtained with the high tunnels to cover their higher capital costs.

Influence of soil mulches and method of crop establishment on growth and yields of pumpkins

2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (2) ◽  
pp. 385-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Waterer
Keyword(s):  
Key Words ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Efficient Production ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Stand Establishment ◽  
Crop Establishment ◽  
Growing Seasons ◽  
Black Plastic ◽  
Cropping Seasons ◽  
Crop Maturity

Management methods that speed crop establishment, growth and maturity are essential to the efficient production of warm season vegetable crops in regions with short, cool growing seasons. This study examined the influence of method of crop establishment and the use of plastic soil mulches on yields and crop maturity of two cultivars of pumpkins over two cropping seasons in central Saskatchewan. Transplanting did not improve stand establishment over direct seeding but enhanced yields without influencing crop maturity. Plastic mulches improved stand establishment and fruit yields relative to a non-mulched control. Clear mulch was superior to black plastic in some cases. Both cropping seasons were unusually favorable for pumpkin production, which may have obscured the benefits expected for transplanting or mulching. Key words: Pumpkins, Cucumis pepo, seeding, transplanting, mulches, maturity, yields

scholarly journals Floral Crop Production in High Tunnels

2009 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Chris Wien
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Cut Flower ◽  
Cut Flowers ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Flower Production ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Celosia Argentea ◽  
Low Tunnels ◽  
High Level

High tunnels are well suited for use in the production of floral crops, especially cut flowers. Through the increases in temperature afforded at both ends of the growing season, high tunnels allow earlier and later harvests than are possible in the field. During summer, rain protection and a relatively calm environment provides an ideal growing environment to cut flower crops. In U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Hardiness Zones 3 through 5, the higher temperatures of a high tunnel permit culture of warm-season crops like celosia (Celosia argentea) during summer. Cut flower production allows intensive production on a small land area and provides a high level of income. For these reasons, high tunnels have become a standard part of cut flower growers' farms. Most commonly, they are single-bay structures with roll-up sides, but use of multi-bay complexes is becoming more popular for larger-scale growers. In USDA Hardiness Zones of 7 and higher, high tunnels are shaded in summer to lower interior temperatures and enhance production of shade-tolerant species. Overall, techniques of moderating temperature extremes with shading and ventilation, or use of low tunnels inside to increase minimum temperatures are important options for cut flower production. In the presentation, comparisons will be made in growth and earliness of production and yield for several cut flower species grown in the field and an adjacent high tunnel.

Effects of duration of coverage with spunbonded polyester rowcovers on growth and yield of bell pepper (Capsicum annuum L.)

2003 ◽  
Vol 83 (2) ◽  
pp. 387-391 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Waterer
Keyword(s):  
Capsicum Annuum ◽  
High Temperatures ◽  
Vegetative Growth ◽  
Insect Pests ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Growing Season ◽  
Growth And Yield ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Cropping Seasons ◽  
Yield Responses

Transparent rowcovers installed at transplanting and removed as growing conditions improve are commonly employed to promote development of warm-season vegetable crops. In regions with a brief and cool growing season, short-stature warm-season crops such as peppers could potentially benefit from being kept under the rowcovers for extended periods after transplanting. This study examined the influence of duration of coverage with spunbonded polyester rowcovers on vegetative growth, fruit yields and degree of fruit maturity of bell peppers over the 1999, 2000 and 2001 cropping seasons in Saskatchewan, Canada. Eight-week-old transplants of several cultivars of pepper were covered for 6 wk or 10 wk after transplanting or for the duration of the growing season. All growth and yield responses to the duration of coverage were consistent across the cultivars tested. In 1999, extending the period of coverage reduced aboveground vegetative growth of the crop, otherwise vegetative growth was not influenced by the duration of coverage. During the relatively cool 2000 cropping season, the duration of coverage had no effect on fruit yields or the proportion of the fruit that matured to red prior to frost. By contrast, in the warmer 1999 and 2001 cropping seasons, fruit yields declined as the duration of coverage increased. Excessively high temperatures interfere with fruit set in peppers. These results suggest that the risk of exposing the crop to excessively high temperatures may be increased by extending the period of coverage into the warmer periods of the growing season. Extending the period of coverage beyond the standard 6 wk also required additional labor and occasionally exacerbated problems with weeds and insect pests. Key words: Rowcovers, microclimate, ripening, pepper, Capsicum annuum

scholarly journals Impact of Shade and Fogging on High Tunnel Production and Mineral Content of Organically Grown Lettuce, Basil, and Arugula in Georgia

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 625
Author(s):  
Savanah Laur ◽  
Andre Luiz Biscaia Ribeiro da Silva ◽  
Juan Carlos Díaz-Pérez ◽  
Timothy Coolong
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Content ◽  
Planting Date ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Lactuca Sativa L ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Shade Cloth ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Soil Temperatures ◽  
Organically Grown ◽  
The Impact

This study evaluated the impact of shade cloth and fogging systems on the microclimate at the plant canopy level and yield of basil (Oscimum basilicum L.), arugula (Eruca vesicaria subsp. Sativa L.), and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) planted in mid-September and early October in high tunnels. Fogging systems were installed at canopy level in plots within shaded (30%) and non-shaded high tunnels. Average air temperatures in the shaded high tunnels were 0.9 °C lower than non-shaded high tunnels during the day. Shade cloth significantly reduced soil temperatures during the day and night periods by 1.5 °C and 1.3 °C, respectively, compared to non-shaded treatments. Fogging systems did not have an impact on air temperature, soil temperature, or relative humidity, but did increase canopy leaf wetness. Shade and fogging did not impact the yield of any of the crops grown. Yield was impacted by planting date, with earlier planting result in higher yields of lettuce and basil. Yields for arugula were greater during the second planting date than the first. Planting date and shade cloth interacted to affect the concentrations of macronutrients.

Season, sowing date, and row cover influences the production of cool season vegetables in movable high tunnels

2020 ◽  
Vol 100 (5) ◽  
pp. 528-536
Author(s):  
David A. Baumbauer ◽  
Macdonald H. Burgess
Keyword(s):  
Sowing Date ◽  
Fresh Weight ◽  
Cool Season ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Leafy Greens ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
Seeding Date ◽  
Northern Latitudes ◽  
Growing Degree Hours ◽  
High Tunnels

Moveable high tunnels offer the possibility of increasing the number of crops harvested from a given piece of ground in northern latitudes where there is a short growing season. In an effort to expand crop scheduling options, three leafy greens and three root vegetables were grown in the spring in a movable high tunnel, and in the fall were sown outside and the tunnel was moved over the crops in late September. The effects of seeding date and addition of row cover were further explored on fresh weight and days to harvest. Using row cover within the high tunnel increased growing degree hours (GDH) by an average of 29% in the spring and 17% in the fall over a high tunnel without row cover. Soil degree hours (SDH) in the high tunnel with row cover increased an average of 9% in the spring and 12% in the fall over the high tunnel without row cover. The addition of row cover increased yield of leafy greens and turnip by an average of 35% in spring 2018 when the outside air temperature was considerably below average. Early-seeded fall leafy greens out-yielded late-seeded by 52% due to the ability to make a second harvest. Using row cover within the high tunnel increased GDH and SDH during both spring and fall seasons and increased the yield of cool season vegetables when outside air temperatures were considerably below average.

scholarly journals Revised fractional abundances and warm-season temperatures substantially improve brGDGT calibrations in lake sediments

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan H. Raberg ◽  
David J. Harning ◽  
Sarah E. Crump ◽  
Greg de Wet ◽  
Aria Blumm ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lake Sediments ◽  
Lake Sediment ◽  
Membrane Lipids ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Structural Diversity ◽  
Temperature Conductivity ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Natural Logarithm ◽  
Air Temperatures

Abstract. Distributions of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) are frequently employed for reconstructing terrestrial paleotemperatures from lake sediment archives. Although brGDGTs are globally ubiquitous, the microbial producers of these membrane lipids remain unknown, precluding a full understanding of the ways in which environmental parameters control their production and distribution. Here, we advance this understanding in three ways. First, we present 43 new high-latitude lake sites characterized by low mean annual air temperatures (MATs) and high seasonality, filling an important gap in the global dataset. Second, we introduce a new approach for analyzing brGDGT data in which compound fractional abundances (FAs) are calculated within structural groups based on methylation number, methylation position, and cyclization number. Finally, we perform linear and nonlinear regressions of the resulting FAs against a suite of environmental parameters in a compiled global lake sediment dataset (n = 182). We find that our approach deconvolves temperature, conductivity, and pH trends in brGDGTs without increasing calibration errors from the standard approach. We also find that it reveals novel patterns in brGDGT distributions and provides a methodology for investigating the biological underpinnings of their structural diversity. Warm-season temperature indices outperformed MAT in our regressions, with Months Above Freezing yielding the highest-performing model (adjusted R2 = 0.91, RMSE = 1.97 °C, n = 182). The natural logarithm of conductivity had the second-strongest relationship to brGDGT distributions (adjusted R2 = 0.83, RMSE = 0.66, n = 143), notably outperforming pH in our dataset (adjusted R2 = 0.73, RMSE = 0.57, n = 154) and providing a potential new proxy for paleohydrology applications. We recommend these calibrations for use in lake sediments globally, including at high latitudes, and detail the advantages and disadvantages of each.

Impact of high air temperatures on Brassicacae crops in southern Ontario

2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (4) ◽  
pp. 1209-1215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jon Warland ◽  
Alan W McKeown ◽  
Mary Ruth McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Cool Season ◽  
Marketable Yield ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
The Family ◽  
Chi Squared ◽  
Hot Weather ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Seasonal Weather

The yield patterns of many cool season vegetable crops were observed to be different from the gradual increase in yields that has been reported over time for corn and soybeans in Ontario. A study was conducted to determine if there was a relationship between yield and seasonal weather patterns for five vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, radish and rutabaga) in the family Brassicacae. The iterative chi-squared technique was used to identify correlations between daily temperature and marketable yield. Yields of all five of the crops showed some damage due to hot weather in August. For cauliflower, cabbage and rutabaga there was roughly a 10% yield loss for every 10 d that the temperature reached 30°C or above during the growing season. These results shed new insight into the mechanisms by which weather affects yield. Key words: Cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radish, rutabaga, yield, climate

scholarly journals THE HEAT PUMP SYSTEM FOR VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING INSIDE THE PRODUCTION AREA WITH AN EXCESSIVE INTERNAL MOISTURE GENERATION

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 78-86
Author(s):  
M.K. Bezrodny ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Energy Efficiency ◽  
Relative Humidity ◽  
Heat Pump ◽  
Air Conditioning ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Pump System ◽  
Heat Pump System ◽  
Environment Temperature ◽  
Production Area ◽  
Continental Climate

The paper studies application feasibility and energy efficiency of the ventilation and air conditioning heat pump system for maintaining comfort conditions inside the production area with an excessive internal moisture generation during the warm season. In this regard, a thermodynamic analysis of a heat pump system with a partial exhaust air recirculation and a variable ratio of fresh outside air was carried out. Numerical analysis was then done to estimate the influence of changes in the environment temperature and relative humidity and the characteristics of the ventilation and air conditioning object on the system parameters. This allowed to determine potential capabilities of this system to maintain comfortable conditions in the production area. It was also shown that the required additional cooling of the supply air at the entrance to the premise for air conditioning demands can be determined by a simple coefficient and its calculation method is provided in the article. The heat pump system of temperature and humidity maintenance has the highest energy efficiency in the zone of relatively low environment temperatures and largely depends on the relative humidity of the outside air. This suggests that the studied system is suitable for application in countries with temperate continental climate.

scholarly journals Improved representation of agricultural land use and crop management for large-scale hydrological impact simulation in Africa using SWAT+

2022 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-89
Author(s):  
Albert Nkwasa ◽  
Celray James Chawanda ◽  
Jonas Jägermeyr ◽  
Ann van Griensven
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Management Practices ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Hydrological Models ◽  
Multiple Cropping ◽  
Crop Phenology ◽  
Cropping Season ◽  
Cropping Seasons ◽  
Global Datasets

Abstract. To date, most regional and global hydrological models either ignore the representation of cropland or consider crop cultivation in a simplistic way or in abstract terms without any management practices. Yet, the water balance of cultivated areas is strongly influenced by applied management practices (e.g. planting, irrigation, fertilization, and harvesting). The SWAT+ (Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model represents agricultural land by default in a generic way, where the start of the cropping season is driven by accumulated heat units. However, this approach does not work for tropical and subtropical regions such as sub-Saharan Africa, where crop growth dynamics are mainly controlled by rainfall rather than temperature. In this study, we present an approach on how to incorporate crop phenology using decision tables and global datasets of rainfed and irrigated croplands with the associated cropping calendar and fertilizer applications in a regional SWAT+ model for northeastern Africa. We evaluate the influence of the crop phenology representation on simulations of leaf area index (LAI) and evapotranspiration (ET) using LAI remote sensing data from Copernicus Global Land Service (CGLS) and WaPOR (Water Productivity through Open access of Remotely sensed derived data) ET data, respectively. Results show that a representation of crop phenology using global datasets leads to improved temporal patterns of LAI and ET simulations, especially for regions with a single cropping cycle. However, for regions with multiple cropping seasons, global phenology datasets need to be complemented with local data or remote sensing data to capture additional cropping seasons. In addition, the improvement of the cropping season also helps to improve soil erosion estimates, as the timing of crop cover controls erosion rates in the model. With more realistic growing seasons, soil erosion is largely reduced for most agricultural hydrologic response units (HRUs), which can be considered as a move towards substantial improvements over previous estimates. We conclude that regional and global hydrological models can benefit from improved representations of crop phenology and the associated management practices. Future work regarding the incorporation of multiple cropping seasons in global phenology data is needed to better represent cropping cycles in areas where they occur using regional to global hydrological models.

scholarly journals Pollinator-attracting Companion Plantings Increase Crop Yield of Cucumbers and Habanero Peppers

HortScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 164-169
Author(s):  
John E. Montoya ◽  
Michael A. Arnold ◽  
Juliana Rangel ◽  
Larry R. Stein ◽  
Marco A. Palma
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Group ◽  
Crop Yield ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Vegetable Crops ◽  
Multiple Cropping ◽  
Borago Officinalis ◽  
Habanero Pepper ◽  
Close Proximity ◽  
Small Scale Farmers ◽  
Companion Plants

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) and habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq.) growers have observed increased crop yield by placing bees in close proximity to these vegetable crops. However, adding managed bees typically may not be feasible for small-scale farmers or homeowners. Limited studies have demonstrated the potential of pollinator-attracting plants to be used as a lure to enhance the visitation of pollinators to adjacent food crops. This study evaluated the potential of adding pollinator-attracting plants in close proximity to cucumber and habanero plants to improve yields by either establishing permanent perennial companion plantings adjacent to the crops or interplanting annual companion plants within the row anew with each crop. The perennial treatment group consisted of Phyla nodiflora (L.) Greene, Borrichia frutescens (L.) DC., Salvia farinacea Benth. ‘Henry Duelberg’, and Eysenhardtia texana Scheele. The annual treatment group consisted of Cosmos bipinnatus Cav., Zinnia ×marylandica D.M. Spooner, Stimart, & T. Boyle, Borago officinalis L., and Ocimum basilicum L. Multiple cropping cycles were initiated using both spring and fall seasons, and yield was assessed for three successive cropping cycles. Fruit quality was unaffected by pollinator-attracting companion plantings; however total and marketable yields were impacted. Cucumber yields were significantly (P < 0.05) greater during fall harvests with annual companion plantings and with the second fall harvest in perennial companion plant plots. Perennial companion plots initially yielded less than control plots or annual companion plots due to the space allocated to the companion plantings and the fewer pollinators initially attracted to the plots compared with the annual companion plantings. When the perennial plots became more established, they resulted in similar yields as the annual companion planting plots. Although habanero yields were increased by annual companion plantings in spring and fall, cucumbers were unaffected by companion plantings in spring. This suggests a potential seasonality for the efficacy of some pollinator-attracting companion plantings for a given crop that could offer an opportunity to tailor companion plantings to attract specific pollinators at different times of the year.

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