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Simicroc: Greenhouse microclimate simulation model

Abstract:

The proper management of microclimate in greenhouse conditions is important to increase productivity. Therefore, the objective of this study was to develop and validate a simulation model to analyze the response of the greenhouse microclimate to changes in external environmental conditions. The model combines a set of first order nonlinear differential equations characterizing the energy and moisture balances. The system of equations is solved numerically with the pbkp_redictor-corrector method by Adams-Bashforth-Moulton using a program written in Fortran 77. The model was validated for a greenhouse tomato crop (Solanum lycopersicum), naturally ventilated, located in the Agricultural Research Institute, University of Los Andes, in Mérida, Venezuela. The validation results fit well with the values measured experimentally; the average correlation coefficients were R=0.88 for the indoor air temperature, R=0.87 for crop temperature, R=0.97 for cover temperature, R=0.97 for soil temperature and R=0.79 for indoor air relative humidity. The model can be used to determine the average values of the variables studied in a naturally ventilated greenhouse and pbkp_redict the reduction of indoor air temperature through the use of windows.