Article
Article
- Botany
- Plant physiology
- Greenhouse
Greenhouse
Article By:
Albright, Louis D. Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.757625
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- Greenhouse technology, published June 2014:Download PDF Get Adobe Acrobat Reader
- Construction
- Environment control
- Heating
- Cooling
- Lighting
- Carbon dioxide
- Mechanization and automation
- Nutrition management and hydroponics
- Economics
- Related Primary Literature
- Additional Reading
A glass- or plastic-enclosed structure that is used to grow plants under protected conditions. Greenhouses (also known as glasshouses) are transparent, enclosed, climate-controlled structures (Fig. 1) in which young, tender, or out-of-season plants are cultivated and protected. These structures are relatively permanent structures. They are made of glass or plastic with aluminum or steel frames, and they are equipped with several means of environmental modification. In addition to greenhouses, there are other similar structures that are used to grow plants. These structures include low and high tunnels. Low tunnels, also called row covers, primarily advance the growing season for outdoor crops (for example, tomatoes, melons, strawberries, and sweet corn). Low tunnels are created using long, narrow strips of transparent plastic material (often polyethylene) buried in the ground along their outer edges to cover one or several adjacent rows of plants grown directly in the soil. French cloches and traditional hot caps are variations of this technology. High tunnels are large versions of low tunnels, raised sufficiently above the ground so that people can walk within them. See also: Agricultural science (plant); Floriculture; Plant; Plant growth; Plant physiology; Plant-water relations
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