scholarly journals Temperature and Light Characterization during Winter Production Season in High Tunnels in the Southwestern United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 259-267
Author(s):  
Mark E. Uchanski ◽  
Dawn M. VanLeeuwen ◽  
Steven J. Guldan ◽  
Constance L. Falk ◽  
Manoj Shukla ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soil Temperature ◽  
Double Layer ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
Winter Solstice ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Tunnel Design

Replicated temperature data from passively heated high tunnels are lacking, especially in the southwestern United States. Field studies were conducted over three seasons in two locations in New Mexico—a southern site in Las Cruces and a northern site in Alcalde—to characterize the crop environment in three high-tunnel designs during the winter growing season (October–March). High tunnels were 16 × 32 ft and oriented with the long edge running east to west. Heavyweight woven plastic covered the single-layer (SL) high-tunnel design. Double-layer designs (DL) were covered with a lightweight woven plastic on the bottom, followed by a second layer of the heavyweight plastic inflated with a fan. A heat sink was created using 16 55-gal barrels painted black, filled with water, and aligned along the north side of the double layer for the DL+B design. Soil temperature (3 inches deep) and air temperature (1 ft above the soil surface) were recorded inside the high tunnel, inside the high tunnel under a floating rowcover, and outside the high tunnel. In addition, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) was recorded inside and outside the high tunnels during or near the winter solstice each year of the study. Daily air and soil temperature minimums were highest in the DL+B design and lowest in the SL design. Maximum air and soil temperatures did not significantly differ between high-tunnel designs, although the DL+B design measurements were consistently lower. During season 1, the SL design had significantly higher PAR transmission than the other two designs. In the northern location, the difference became insignificant during seasons 2 and 3, likely due to dust accumulation and plastic aging. In the southern location, the SL design maintained higher PAR transmission throughout the study, possibly due to plastic cleaning. Data collected in this study can help inform the decisions of high-tunnel growers and researchers in the region.

scholarly journals The Economics of Low-cost High Tunnels for Winter Vegetable Production in the Southwestern United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emmanuel Alves Dos Santos Hecher ◽  
Constance L. Falk ◽  
Juliette Enfield ◽  
Steven J. Guldan ◽  
Mark E. Uchanski
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Sensitivity Analysis ◽  
Double Layer ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Appropriate Technology ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Tunnel Design

Relatively little season extension research has been conducted in the southwestern United States, particularly with low-cost high tunnels or hoop houses for small-scale farmers. In this study, the economics of winter production of two leafy crops [lettuce (Lactuca sativa) and spinach (Spinacia oleracea)] in high tunnels in two locations in New Mexico were investigated, first using a simulation analysis in which yields were stochastic variables followed by a sensitivity analysis to examine returns from the high tunnel designs more closely. The returns examined in the sensitivity analysis were net of high tunnel materials, crop seed cost, and electricity. Two planting dates were tested and three high tunnel designs were examined: a single layer covering the house (SL), a double layer inflated with air (DL), and a double layer inflated with air and containing black water barrels to store heat (DL+B). The SL and DL designs appear to be the more appropriate technology for both locations for spinach, whereas for lettuce the DL+B model might be a reasonable option in Alcalde, a more-northern location. Overall, the SL and DL models provided adequate protection for growing crops, were less expensive to build, provided more interior growing space, and resulted in higher probabilities of producing positive returns, compared with the DL+B design. The DL design performed similarly to the SL design, but required running electricity to the structure to power the inflation fan, adding to the cost. As a result, expected returns in all cases were higher using the SL design based on the results of the sensitivity analyses. Combining the risk and the sensitivity analyses provides growers with a unique evaluation process to make high tunnel design, planting date, and crop choices.

scholarly journals Soil Solarization in High Tunnels in the Semiarid Southwestern United States

HortScience ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 49 (9) ◽  
pp. 1165-1170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristen Hanson ◽  
Tilak Mahato ◽  
Ursula K. Schuch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Soil Solarization ◽  
Daily Maximum ◽  
Base Temperature ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Adverse Weather ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Soil Temperatures

High tunnels are unheated structures covered with polyethylene (PE) glazing to protect high-value crops from adverse weather. The objective of this study was to raise soil temperatures to determine the efficacy of soil solarization using clear mulch on the soil surface and glazing or no glazing on a high tunnel during the hottest months of the year in the semiarid southwestern United States. Solarization trials were conducted in May and June 2013 in two high tunnels in southern Arizona. Highest soil temperatures were reached with the combination of a high tunnel covered with glazing and the soil covered with PE mulch. Average daily soil temperatures were 48 and 47 °C and average degree hours (DH) per day (base temperature 45 °C) were over 14 at soil depths of 5 and 15 cm. The average daily maximum soil temperature at 5- and 15-cm depth was 63.4 and 52 °C, respectively. The second highest soil temperatures were reached when the soil was covered with PE mulch without high tunnel glazing, which resulted per day in 5.2 DH above 45 °C at 5 cm and less than one DH at 15-cm depth. Glazing on the high tunnel without covering the soil surface raised soil temperatures only at the 5-cm depth above 45 °C, but not further down. High tunnel producers in the low desert areas in the southwestern United States can complete solarization in less than 1 week, depending on the organism to be controlled, when the soil is fallow during the summer months with glazing on the high tunnel and on the soil surface.

scholarly journals Trends in Soil Quality Under High Tunnels

HortScience ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 45 (10) ◽  
pp. 1534-1538 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sharon J.B. Knewtson ◽  
Rhonda Janke ◽  
M.B. Kirkham ◽  
Kimberly A. Williams ◽  
Edward E. Carey
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Quality ◽  
Particulate Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
The United States ◽  
Total Carbon ◽  
Surface Salinity ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
High Tunnels

Growers have indicated that changes in soil quality under production in high tunnels is an important problem, but these have not yet been quantified or critically assessed in the central Great Plains of the United States. We conducted surveys of grower perceptions of soil quality in their tunnels (n = 81) and compared selected soil quality indicators (salinity and particulate organic matter carbon) under high tunnels of varying ages with those of adjacent fields at sites in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Iowa in the United States. Fourteen percent of growers surveyed considered soil quality to be a problem in their high tunnels, and there were significant correlations between grower perceptions of soil quality problems and reported observations of clod formation and surface crusting and to a lesser extent surface mineral deposition. Grower perception of soil quality and grower observation of soil characteristics were not related to high tunnel age. Soil surface salinity was elevated in some high tunnels compared with adjacent fields but was not related to time under the high tunnel. In the soil upper 5 cm, salinity in fields did not exceed 2 dS·m−1 and was less than 2 dS·m−1 under 74% of high tunnels and less than 4 dS·m−1 in 97% of high tunnels. The particulate organic matter carbon fraction was higher in high tunnels than adjacent fields at 73% of locations sampled. Particulate organic matter carbon measured 0.11 to 0.67 g particulate organic matter per g of the total carbon under high tunnels sampled. Particulate organic matter carbon in the soil was also not correlated to age of high tunnel. Soil quality as measured in this study was not negatively impacted by use of high tunnel structures over time.

scholarly journals Survival and Yields of Fall-planted Winter Sprouting Broccoli Grown in High Tunnels for Spring Harvest in the Northeastern United States

2012 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 345-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clifton A. Martin ◽  
Rebecca Grube Sideman
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Early Spring ◽  
Northeastern United States ◽  
Planting Dates ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Spring Crop ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Spring Harvest ◽  
White Star

Winter sprouting broccoli [WSB (Brassica oleracea var. italica)] is a biennial crop that is typically planted in the fall and harvested in the spring in the United Kingdom. To evaluate their suitability as an early spring crop in the northeastern United States, 10 cultivars of WSB were grown in replicated experiments inside an unheated high tunnel over 2 years in Durham, NH. Results showed that the use of a secondary low tunnel covered with heavy rowcover (1.25 oz/yard2) significantly increased winter survival, yields, and earliness of all WSB cultivars. Cultivars differed in terms of days to maturity, yields, and shoot quality. For September planting dates, broccoli shoots were harvested from March to early May. Across cultivars, days to harvest range from 190 to 216 days in 2008–09, and from 209 to 238 days in 2009–10. Season-long yields ranged from 150 to 238 g/plant. The cultivars, Santee, Red Spear, White Sprouting Early, and Late White Star, were among the highest yielding cultivars that produced attractive and tender shoots, spanning the entire harvest season. Our experiments established that fall plantings of WSB may be overwintered in an unheated high tunnel for a spring harvest in USDA Hardiness Zone 5 sites.

scholarly journals (84) Producing Cut Flowers in High Tunnels and Open Fields

HortScience ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 1067D-1067
Author(s):  
H. Chris Wien
Keyword(s):  
Warm Season ◽  
Single Layer ◽  
Stem Length ◽  
Pest Species ◽  
Cut Flowers ◽  
Eustoma Grandiflorum ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Season Extension ◽  
Choice Of Species

Flowering plants grown and marketed locally as cut flowers have become economically important in recent years, concentrating on species that are too delicate to ship long distances. Although the bulk of this production is done outdoors, extending the season at both ends by using high tunnels (unheated greenhouse structures covered with a single layer of polyethylene), has become popular. To determine the advantages and drawbacks of using high tunnels as season extension structures for cut flowers, variety trials of seven and four flower species were conducted in 2004 and 2005, respectively, both in a high tunnel and in an adjacent field. In the cool, rainy 2004 season, plants in the tunnel were ready for harvest 20 days sooner than the same varieties outside. Outside plants had 25% more stems than tunnel-grown plants, but there was no difference in average stem length. In the dry, warm season of 2005, tunnel-grown plants were 8 days earlier, and had 58% more stems, which were increased in length by 16% over field-grown plants. Lisianthus (Eustoma grandiflorum) and snapdragons (Antirrhinum) were grown in both seasons, and gave similar results both times. Tunnel-grown lisianthus showed a 34% increase in stems per plant, and an 8% increase in stem length, and the stems could be harvested 8 days earlier. Snapdragons were 9 days earlier in the tunnel both years, but tunnel-grown plants produced 22% fewer stems. Disease and insect pressures occurred in both locations, but pest species causing problems differed. With careful choice of species to be grown in tunnels, cut flower production in this environment can be optimized.

scholarly journals Economic Analysis of Growing Grafted Cucumber Plants for High Tunnel Production

2021 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 181-187
Author(s):  
Orlando F. Rodriguez Izaba ◽  
Wenjing Guan ◽  
Ariana P. Torres
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cultural Practice ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Production Costs ◽  
Vegetable Production ◽  
Marketable Yield ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Budget Analysis ◽  
High Tunnels

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) is one of the most important vegetables produced and consumed in the United States. In the midwestern United States, a major obstacle to spring cucumber production is low soil temperatures during plant establishment. High tunnel is a popular tool for season extension of vegetable production. Low soil temperature is a challenge for cucumber production even inside high tunnels. Grafting is a cultural practice known to help control soilborne diseases and improve plants’ tolerance to abiotic stresses. Recent studies found that using grafted cucumber plants with cold-tolerant rootstocks greatly benefited early-season seedless cucumber production in high tunnels. The objective of this study was to analyze the economic feasibility of growing grafted cucumber in high tunnels. A comparison of partial costs and returns between growing grafted and nongrafted cucumbers in a high tunnel in Vincennes, IN, was conducted. Data were used to develop a partial budget analysis and sensitivity tests. Data included production costs, marketable yield, and price of cucumber through different market channels. This study provided a baseline reference for growers interested in grafting seedless cucumber and for high tunnel production. Although costs of grafted transplants were higher, their yield and potential revenue helped to offset the higher costs. Results indicated that grafting can help farmers increase net returns through the increasing yield of grafted plants. Results from the sensitivity analysis illustrated how the increased yield of grafted cucumbers offsets the extra cost incurred in the technique while providing a higher revenue. While actual production costs for individual farmers may vary, our findings suggested that grafting can be an economically feasible tool for high tunnel seedless cucumber production.

scholarly journals Design and Construction of the Penn State High Tunnel

2002 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 447-453 ◽  
Author(s):  
William J. Lamont ◽  
Martin R. McGann ◽  
Michael D. Orzolek ◽  
Nymbura Mbugua ◽  
Bruce Dye ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crop Production ◽  
State University ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Horticultural Crops ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Penn State ◽  
Tunnel Design ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Production Period ◽  
Design And Construction

Plasticulture technology, especially high tunnels for extending the production period of a wide variety of horticultural crops, is an accepted production practice worldwide. In particular, high tunnels offer a production system that minimizes the effect of the environment on crop production and allows growers to continue to farm in densely populated areas. Only recently has the use of high tunnels in the U.S. been investigated and this research has been centered in the northeastern U.S. In 1999 the High Tunnel Research and Education Facility was established at Pennsylvania State University that resulted in the development of a unique high tunnel design. A detailed description of the new design and construction is presented in this report.

scholarly journals Ornamental Kale as a Cut Flower under High Tunnels in the Southeastern United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 855-862
Author(s):  
Suzanne O’Connell
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Southeastern United States ◽  
Stem Length ◽  
Cut Flower ◽  
Planting Dates ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Color Changes ◽  
Air Temperatures ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Ornamental Kale

The potential to expand the production of ornamental kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) grown as a specialty cut flower in the southeastern United States appears promising, especially for the winter holidays. This 2-year replicated study investigated the effects of two fall plantings and three cultivars on ornamental kale yields grown under organic high tunnels. In addition to the production study, informal interviews of local florists were conducted. The earlier planting dates resulted in longer stem lengths (≥5 cm) and fewer days to harvest (≥5 days) across both seasons. Commercial stem length goals were not achieved (≥60 cm) but local florists did not appear to have the same standards (≥31 cm). The cultivars Crane Bicolor and Lucir White had longer stems and larger heads than Crane Red. Our high tunnel system provided favorable air temperatures for vegetative growth from late September through early November indicating an earlier planting date may be possible. Commonly accepted nighttime temperatures required to induce color changes occurred in early to mid-November during our study period.

Impact, Biology, and Ecology of Saltcedar (Tamarixspp.) in the Southwestern United States

1998 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-336 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph M. Di Tomaso
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
High Salinity ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean ◽  
Eastern Mediterranean Region ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
Soil Surface ◽  
Water Usage ◽  
Southwestern United States ◽  
Short Period ◽  
Germination And Growth

Eight species ofTamarixwere first brought to North America in the 1800s from southern Europe or the eastern Mediterranean region. Many of the species escaped cultivation and by the 1920s invaded about 4,000 ha of riparian habitat in the southwestern United States. By 1987, it was estimated to have increased to at least 600,000 ha. The success of saltcedar in the southwest can be attributed to several factors related to its growth habit, reproduction, water usage, ability to tolerate highly saline conditions, and redistribution of salt from deep in the soil profile to the soil surface. The flowers produce small, numerous, and tufted seeds that can be carried long distances by wind or water. The seeds, however, have a short period of viability, and must come in contact with suitable moisture within a few weeks of dispersal. Unlike obligate phreatophytes, such as willows and cottonwoods, saltcedar is a facultative phreatophyte and is often able to survive under conditions where groundwater is inaccessible. The high evapotranspiration rates of saltcedar can lower the water table and alter the floristic composition in heavily infested areas. Mature plants are tolerant to a variety of stress conditions, including heat, cold, drought, flooding, and high salinity. Saltcedar is not an obligate halophyte but survives in areas where groundwater concentrations of dissolved solids can average 8,000 ppm or higher. In addition, the leaves of saltcedar excrete salts that are deposited on the soil surface under the plant, inhibiting germination and growth of competing species.

scholarly journals Rowcover and High Tunnel Growing Systems in the United States

1996 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Otho S. Wells
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Production Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Tunnel Construction ◽  
High Tunnel ◽  
Descriptive Information ◽  
Intensive Production ◽  
High Tunnels ◽  
Tunnel System

Rowcovers and high tunnels are two intensive production systems used by commercial growers to extend the season and to improve yields of vegetables and strawberries. There are many types of rowcovers. These materials are summarized with descriptive information, primary use, and cost. The basics of high tunnel construction are presented to facilitate setting up a high-tunnel system.

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