Estidamah Shares its Findings on Water Efficient Protected Horticulture in Arid Regions in the 3rd GreenTech Amsterdam 2019

^{Amsterdam, Netherlands, 12-14 June 2019}

The National Research and Development Center for Sustainable Agriculture “Estidamah” has shared its findings on water-efficient protected horticulture in arid regions in the Third GreenTech, organized in Amsterdam, Netherlands, 12-14 June, 2019.

In a greenhouse experiment in a desert environment, in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), two different greenhouses were tested: the first one was traditional while the second greenhouse was modified, yet both equipped with a pad and fan cooling system. Both greenhouses were compared in terms of productivity and water use; with a special focus on water use for cooling. The modified greenhouse design resulted in about 14% higher in fresh production weight. As well, more than 40% water saving was achieved on evaporative cooling. The climate and water use data recorded during the experiment were used to validate a greenhouse climate simulation model, including pad and fan cooling.

It was shown that the extracted air temperature had a major influence on water use for cooling. Increasing the extracted air temperature with 4 K resulted in about 27% savings in water use for cooling. Additionally, a 5 % higher cooling efficiency of the pad wall could yield an extra 12% water saving for evaporative cooling. Finally, the greenhouse cover-to-ground area ratio was also found to affect the water use for cooling. In brief, the project has shown that there is much scope for saving water used for evaporative cooling by improving the design of both greenhouses and the cooling systems and that a good greenhouse climate model would be a useful tool in this process.

The Third GreenTech brought the biggest and most innovative horticulture technologies put together under one roof with over 450 exhibitors from more than 40 countries. The event offered a unique focus on production technology, new product introductions from all industry innovators and inspiring sessions. Participants had a great opportunity to expand their international business network.