The Fifth Open Seminar '08 Laboratory of Agricultural Process Engineering, Kyoto U.




Title: Energy-Efficient Greenhouse Production of Ornamental Crops

Presenter: Associate Prof. Erik Runkle (Associate Professor, Department of Horticulture, Michigan State University, USA) 

Date and Time: March 4 (Wed.),13:00-14:00

Place: Room W-306

Abstract: The cost of fuel is an increasingly significant production expense for greenhouse growers in temperate climates. High heating costs have motivated growers to improve the efficiency of crop production to minimize energy inputs. We have been performing experiments to understand how temperature and photosynthetic daily light integral influence production time and quality of numerous flowering ornamental plants. Using a decision-support computer program called Virtual Grower, we can estimate energy consumption in different commercial greenhouse environments throughout the United States. With this information, we are able to predict the growing temperature that consumes the least amount of energy on a per-crop basis. Additional energy-efficient greenhouse production strategies will also be briefly presented.