Unlike other aspects of agricultural sciences, little literature is available on protected cultivation in India. Protected cultivation in India has vast potential under changing environmental parameters and reducing land and water resources. The book contains consolidated and concise information on design, construction and maintenance of protected structures and production technologies under protected cultivation with contributions from eminent scientists and researchers from institute like DIHAR- DRDO, ICAR, CIAE, CIPHET, CPCT, IIVR, CAZRI, NRCs and various SAUs.
Greenhouse horticulture is one of the most intensive agricultural systems, focusing on the production of high-value products. This book presents current research findings that cover a wide range of new technologies and novel agricultural practices, which are preconditions for successful production in a very competitive global environment.
A comprehensive, practical text which covers a diverse range of hydroponic and protected cropping techniques, systems, greenhouse types and environments. It also details the use of indoor plant factories, vertical systems, organic hydroponics and aquaponics. Worldwide hydroponic cropping operations can vary from large, corporate producers running many hectares of greenhouse systems particularly for crops such as tomato, cucumber, capsicum and lettuce, to smaller-scale growers growing fresh produce for local markets.
A greenhouse provides an essential means of livelihood to its owner and must be economically practical for the particular climate in which it stands. Greenhouses: Advanced Technology for Protected Horticulture addresses the major environmental factors of light, temperature, water, nutrition, and carbon dioxide, and features extensive discussions of greenhouse types, construction, and climate control. The book highlights technology such as hydroponics, computer control of environments, and advanced mathematical procedures for environmental optimization. Greenhouses: Advanced Technology for Protected Horticulture is the definitive text/reference for the science of greenhouse engineering and management. The author Dr. Joe J. Hanan, Professor Emeritus of Colorado State University, is the recipient of the Society of American Florists' (SAF) 2000 (Millenium) Alex Laurie Award for Research and Education. The Alex Laurie Award is presented annually to an individual who has made broad-scope, long-lasting contributions to the floriculture industry through research or education. The award is named for Alex Laurie, a professor at The Ohio State University, who pioneered work in many areas of floriculture. "Joe is one of the most precise floricultural researchers I have known," said Dr. Gus De Hertogh, Chairman of SAF's Research Committee. "That excellence is reflected in his latest book, Greenhouses, Advanced Technology for Protected Horticulture, which was published in 1998, nine years after his official 'retirement.'"
Greenhouse and other forms of protected cultivation create controlled environments to offset climate change and optimise resource use. This book reviews current research in more efficient climate control and root development to optimise their use.
The book consists of 32 chapters featuring the concepts and applications of precision farming and protected cultivation broadly covered with theoretical and practical approach. The first 8 chapters are exclusively designed to provide detailed information on concept, need, objectives, benefits, components, applications and limitations of precision farming; laser leveler and its working mechanism, components and functioning; mechanized sowing and types of mechanical seeders and their use; approaches for mapping of soils and plant attributes; site-specific weed and nutrient management; precision management of insect-pests and diseases; yield mapping in horticultural crops. An attempt has been made to cover the concept and application of protected cultivation in chapters from 9 to 30 characteristically highlighting the concept of greenhouse technology, its principles as well as historical and technological developments, agrivoltaic system, its concept and features, response of plant species under greenhouse conditions, criteria for the selection of crops and varieties for protected cultivation, basic considerations for site selection, orientation and designing of greenhouse structures, climate control mechanisms for cooling and heating in greenhouses, components, accessories and BIS codes for protected cultivation, types of Irrigation system for greenhouse production system, growing media for greenhouse cultivation, soil pasteurization namely solarization, steam sterilization, chemical sterilization and augmentation with biological agents, checking the suitability of soil and water for greenhouse crops, plug tray nursery raising, basics of fertigation in greenhouse production system, packages of practice for greenhouse cucumber, bell pepper, tomato and melons, potential of pruning as unconventional alternative for mass multiplication of greenhouse cucumber and tomato, types of soil-less cultures, GAP for protected cultivation and economic analysis of protected cultivation. Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the Hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The book carries 17 s dealing with space saving, maximizing the efficiency of fertigation, mulching, integrated pest, disease and nutrient management (IPDNM) and engineering aspects of structures.Net houses, poly houses, rain shelters, poly tunnels, uses of plastics in horticulture and cold chains for storage and marketing are elaborated. Hydroponics and aeroponics are discussed.
This collection reviews current research on optimising substrates for soilless cultivation and assesses recent advances in technologies, such as fertigation systems and process control. Case studies on a range of horticultural crops feature throughout as a means of depicting examples of practical application.
The frontiers of technologies have been constantly expanded in many industries around the world, including the agricultural sector. Among many “frontier technologies” in agriculture, are protected agriculture, precision agriculture, and vertical farming, all of which depart substantially from many conventional agricultural production methods. It is not yet clear how these technologies can become adoptable in developing countries, including, for example, South Asian countries like India. This paper briefly reviews the issues associated withthese three types of frontier technologies. We do so by systematically checkingthe academic articleslisted in Google Scholar, which primarily focus on these technologies in developing countries in Asia. Where appropriate, a few widely-cited overview articles for each technology were also reviewed. The findings generally reveal where performances of these technologiescan be raised potentially, based on the general trends in the literature. Where evidence is rich, some generalizable economic insights about these technologies are provided. For protected agriculture, recent research has focusedsignificantly on various features of protective structures (tunnel heights, covering materials, shading structures, frames and sizes) indicating that there are potentials for adaptive research on such structures to raise the productivity of protected agriculture. The research on protected agriculture also focuses on types of climate parameters controlled, andenergy structures, among others. For precision agriculture, recent research has focused on the spatial variability of production environments, development of efficient and suitable data management systems, efficiency of various types of image analyses and optical sensing, efficiency of sensors and related technologies, designs of precision agriculture equipment, optimal inputs and service uses, and their spatial allocations, potentials of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and nano-technologies. For vertical farming, research has often highlighted the variations in technologies based on out-door / indoor systems, ways to improve plants’ access to light (natural or artificial), growing medium and nutrient / water supply, advanced features like electricity generation and integration of production space into an office / residential space, and water treatment. For India, issues listed above may be some of the key areas that the country can draw on from other more advanced countries in Asia, or can focus in its adaptive research to improve the relevance and applicability of these technologies to the country.
