Chapter 1-Greenhouse Technology:

Syllabus points
 Introduction
 History of greenhouse
 Advantages of greenhouse
 Greenhouse effect

Introduction
After the advent of green revolution, more emphasis is laid on the quality of
the product along with the quantity of production to meet the ever-growing food
requirements. Both these demands can be met when the environment for the plant
growth is suitably controlled. The need to protect the crops against unfavourable
environmental conditions led to the development of protected agriculture. Greenhouse
is the most practical method of achieving the objectives of protected agriculture,
where the natural environment is modified by using sound engineering principles to
achieve optimum plant growth and yields.

History
‘A greenhouse is framed or an inflated structure covered with a transparent or
translucent material in which crops could be grown under the conditions of at least
partially controlled environment and which is large enough to permit persons to work
within it to carry out cultural operations.’
The growing of off-season cucumbers under transparent stone for Emperor
Tiberius, in the first century, is the earliest reported protected agriculture. The
technology was rarely employed during the next 1500 years. In the 16th century, glass
lanterns, bell jars and hot beds covered with glass were used to protect horticultural
crops against cold in the 17th century, low portable wooden frames covered with an
oiled translucent paper were used to warm the plant environment.
In Japan, straw mats were used in combination with oil paper to protect crops
from the severe environmental conditions. Greenhouses in France and England during
the same century were heated by manure and covered with glass panes. The first
greenhouse in the 1700s used Glass on one side only as a sloping roof. Later in the
century, glasses were both sides. Glasshouses were used for fruit crops such as,
melons, grapes, peaches and strawberries, and rarely for vegetable production.
Protected agriculture was fully established with the introduction of polyethylene after
the world war-II. The first use of polyethylene as a greenhouse cover was in 1948,
when Professor Emery Myers Emmert, at the university of Kentucky, USA, used the
less expensive material in place of more expensive glass.
In India, the cultivation in the plastic greenhouse is of recent origin. As per
1994-95 estimates, approximately 100 ha of land are under greenhouse cultivation.
 Advantages of greenhouse
The following are the advantages of using the greenhouse for growing crops under
controlled environment:
1. Throughout the year four to five crops can be grown in a greenhouse due to the
availability of required plant environmental conditions.
2. The productivity of the crop is increased considerably.
3. Superior quality produce can be obtained as they are grown under suitably controlled
environment.
4. Gadgets for efficient use of various inputs like water, fertilizers, seeds and plant
protection chemicals can be well maintained in a greenhouse.
5. Effective control of pests and diseases is possible as the growing area is enclosed.
6. Percentage of germination of seeds is high in greenhouses.
7. The acclimatization of plantlets of tissue culture technique can be carried out in a
greenhouse.
8. Agricultural and horticultural crop production schedules can be planned effectively to
take advantage of the market needs.
9. Different types of growing medium like peat mass vermiculate, rice hulls and
compost that are used in intensive agriculture can be effectively utilized in the
greenhouse.
10. Export quality produce meeting international standards can be produced in a
greenhouse.
11. When the crops are not grown, drying and related operations of the harvested produce
can be taken up utilizing the entrapped heat.
12. Greenhouses are suitable for automation of irrigation, application of other inputs, and
environmental controls by using computers and artificial intelligence techniques.
13. Self-employment for educated youth on farm can be increased.

Greenhouse Effect:

In general, the percentage of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 0.0345% (345 ppm).
But due to the emission of pollutants and exhaust gases into the atmosphere, the
percentage of carbon dioxide increases which forms a blanket in the outer atmosphere.
This causes the entrapping of the reflected solar radiation from the earth surface. Due to
this, the atmospheric temperature increases, causing global warming, melting of ice caps
and rise in the ocean levels which result in submergence of coastal lines. This
phenomenon of increase in the ambient temperature, due to formation of the blanket of
carbon dioxide is known as greenhouse effect. The greenhouse covering material acts in a
similar way, as it is transparent to short wave radiation and opaque to long wave
radiation. During the daytime the short wave radiation enters into the greenhouse and gets
reflected from the ground surface. This reflected radiation becomes long wave radiation
and is entrapped inside the greenhouse by the covering material. This causes the increase
in the greenhouse temperature. It is a desirable effect from point of view of crop growth
in the cold regions.
Chapter 2- Types of greenhouses

Syllabus points:

Greenhouse types based on shape, utility, construction, and covering materials.

Greenhouse structures of various types are used successfully for crop production. Although
there are specific advantages in each type for a particular application, in general there is no
single type greenhouse, which can be considered as best. Different types of greenhouses
based on shape, utility, construction and covering materials are briefly described.

A. Classification on the basis of shape: greenhouses can be classified based on their

shape or style. For the purpose of classification, the uniqueness of the cross section of
the greenhouses can be utilized. As a longitudinal section tend to be approximately
the same for all types, the longitudinal section of the greenhouse cannot be used for
classification. The cross sections depict the width and height of the structure and the
length is perpendicular to the plane of cross section. Also the cross section provides
information on the overall shape of structural members, such as truss or hoop that will
be repeated on every bay. A number of greenhouses on the basis of shape are
available.
1. Lean-to
2. Even span
3. Uneven span
4. Ridge and furrow
5. Saw tooth
6. Quonset

Lean-To Type Greenhouse:

A lean to design is used when the greenhouse is placed against the

side of an existing building. This design makes the best use of sunlight
and minimizes the requirement of roof supports. The roof of the building
is extended with appropriate greenhouse covering material and the area is
properly enclosed.

Fig. Lean to type GH structure

Even Span Type Greenhouse:

In this type, the two roof slopes are of equal pitch and width. This design is used for
the greenhouse of small size, and it is constructed on leveled ground. Several single and
multiple span types are available for use in various regions of India. For singe span type, the
span in general varies from 5-9 m, whereas the length is around 24 m. the height varies from
2.5 to 4.3 m.
 Fig. Even span type Greenhouse

Uneven Span type Greenhouse:

This type of greenhouse is constructed on hilly terrain. The roofs are of unequal width, which
make the structure adaptable to the side slopes of hill. This type of greenhouses is seldom
used now-a-days as it is not adaptable for automation.

Fig. Uneven Span type greenhouse

Ridge and Furrow Type Greenhouse

Designs of this type use two or more A-

frame green houses connected to one
another along the length of the eave. The
eave serves as a furrow or gutter to carry
rain and melted snow away. The side
walls are eliminated between the
greenhouses, which results in a structure with a single large interior. Consolidation of interior
space reduces labour, lowers the cost of automation, improves personal management and
reduces fuel consumption, as there is less exposed wall area through which heat escapes. The
snow loads must be taken into account in the frame specifications of these greenhouses since
the snow cannot slide off the roofs as in case of individual free standing greenhouses, but
melts away, in spite of snow loads, ridge and furrow greenhouses are effectively used in
northern countries of Europe and in Canada and are well suited to the Indian conditions.

Saw tooth type greenhouse

These are also similar to the ridge and furrow type greenhouses except that, there is provision
for natural ventilation in this type. Specific natural ventilation flow path develops in a saw
tooth type greenhouse.
Fig. Saw-tooth type Greenhouse

Quonset Greenhouse

In Quonset greenhouse, the pipe arches or

trusses are supported by pipe purlins running
along the length of the greenhouse. In general,
the covering material used for this type of
greenhouses is polyethylene. Such greenhouses
are typically less expensive than the gutter
connected greenhouses and are useful when a
small isolated cultural area is required. These
houses are connected either in free standing style or arranged in an interlocking ridge and
furrow.

In the interlocking type greenhouses, truss

members overlap sufficiently to allow a bed of
plants to grow between the overlapping potions
of adjacent houses. A single large cultural
space thus exists for a set of houses in this type,
an arrangement that is better adapted to the
automation and movement of labourers.

B. Greenhouse type based on utility:

Classification of greenhouses can also be made depending on the functions or utilities. Of the
different utilities, artificial cooling and heating of the greenhouse are more expensive and
elaborate. Hence based on artificial cooling and heating of the greenhouse are more
expensive and elaborate. Hence based on the artificial cooling and heating, greenhouses are
classified as that uses active heating system and active cooling system.

1. Greenhouses for active heating

During the night time, the air temperature inside greenhouse decreases and to avoid the
cold bite to plants due to freezing, some amount of heat has to be supplied. The requirements
for heating greenhouse depend on the rate at which the heat is lost to the outside
environment. Various methods are adopted to reduce the heat losses namely, using double
layer polyethylene, thermopane glasses (two layer of factory sealed glass with dead air space)
or to use heating systems, such as unit heaters, central heat, radiant heat and solar heating
system.

2. Greenhouses for active cooling

During summer season, it is desirable to reduce the temperature of greenhouse than the
ambient temperatures, for effective crop growth. Hence suitable modifications are made so
that large volumes of cooled air are drawn into greenhouse. This type of greenhouse either
consists of evaporative cooling pad with fan or fog cooling. This greenhouse is designed in
such a way that it permits a roof opening of 40% and in some cases nearly 100%.

C. Greenhouse type based on construction

The type of construction is predominantly influenced by the structural material, though

the covering materials also influence the type. Span of the house in turn dictates the
selection of structural members and their construction. Higher the span, stronger should be
the material and more structural members are used to make sturdy truss type frames. For
smaller spans, simpler designs like hoops can be broadly classified as wooden framed, pipe
framed and truss framed structures.

Fig. Structural components of Greenhouse structure

1. Wooden framed structures:

In general, for greenhouses with span less than 6 m, only wooden framed structures are
used. Side posts and columns are constructed of wood without the use of truss. Pine wood is
commonly used as it is inexpensive and possesses the required strength. Timber locally
available, with good strength, durability and machinability also can be used for the
construction.

2. Pipe framed structures:

When the clear span is around 12 m, pipes are used for the construction of greenhouses.
In general, the side posts, columns, cross-ties and purlins are connected using pipes. Trusses
are not used also in this type of greenhouse. The pipe components are not interconnected but
depend on the attachment to the sash bars for support.

3. Truss framed structures

If the greenhouse span is greater than or equal to 15 m, truss frames are used. Flat steel,
tubular steel or angle iron is welded together to form a truss encompassing rafters, chords and
struts. Struts are support members under compression and chords are support members under
tension. Angle iron purlins running throughout the length of greenhouse are bolted to each
truss. Columns are used only in very wide truss frame houses of 21.3 m or more. Most of the
glass houses are of truss frame type, as these frames are best suited for pre-fabrication.

D. Greenhouse type based on covering materials

Covering materials are the major and important component of the greenhouse structure.
Covering materials have direct influence on the greenhouse effect inside the structure, and
they alter the air temperature inside the house. The types of frames and method of fixing also
varies with the covering material. Based on the type of covering materials the greenhouses
are classified as glass, plastic film ad rigid panel greenhouses.

Glass greenhouses

Only glass greenhouses with glass as the covering material existed prior to 1950.
Glass as covering material has the advantage of greater interior light intensity. These
greenhouses have higher air infiltration rate, which leads to lower interior humidity and better
disease prevention. Lean-to type, even span, ridge and furrow type of designs are used for
construction of glass greenhouse.

Plastic film greenhouses

Flexible plastic film including polyethylene, polyester and polyvinyl chloride are used
as covering material in this type of greenhouses. Plastics as covering material for greenhouses
have become popular, as they are cheap and the cost of heating is less when compared to
glass greenhouses. The main disadvantage with plastic films is its short life as the covering
material. For example, the best quality ultraviolet (UV) stabilized film can last for four years
only. Quonset design as well as gutter connected design is suitable for using this covering
material.

Rigid Panel Greenhouses

Polyvinyl chloride rigid panels, fiber glass-reinforced plastic, acrylic and

polycarbonate rigid panels are employed as the covering material in this type of greenhouses.
These panels can be used in the Quonset type frames or ridge and furrow type frames. These
panels are more resistant to breakage and the light intensity is uniform throughout the
greenhouse when compared to glass or plastic. High grade panel have long life even upto 20
years. The main disadvantage is that these panels tend to collect dust as well as harbor algae,
which results in darkening of panels and subsequent reduction in the light transmission. There
is significant danger of fire hazard.
Engineering Properties of Agriculture Materials
Syllabus points:
Engineering properties of cereals, pulses and oil seed. Their applications in PHT equipment
design and operation:
 Physical properties:
 Size and shape (Roundness and Sphericity)
 Porosity
 Coefficient of friction and angle of repose
 Thermal Properties: Definition of specific heat and Thermal conductivity.
 Aero and hydrodynamic properties: Definition of Terminal velocity

Engineering Properties of Agricultural Materials

Engineering properties are the properties which are useful and necessary in the design
and operation of various equipment employed in the field of agricultural processing and also
for design and development of other farm machinery. Unit operations such as cleaning,
grading, drying, dehydration, storage, milling, handling and transportation, thermal
processing of foods are among the important operations in agricultural processing. In these
operations while handling of grains and other commodities the properties which play an
important role are physical, mechanical, frictional, rheological, aero and hydrodynamic,
electrical, and optical properties of the bio materials. Basic information on these properties is
of great importance and help for equipment development.

Physical Properties
The physical properties such as size, shape, surface area, volume, density, porosity,
colour and appearance are important in designing a particular equipment or determining the
behaviour of the product for its handling.
Various types of cleaning, grading and separation equipment are designed on the basis
of physical properties of seeds such as size, shape, specific gravity, surface roughness, colour
etc. For designing an air screen grain cleaner, the shape and size of screen determine the
shape and size of screen openings, angle of inclination and vibration amplitude and frequency
of screens. The density of the grains decides the size of screening surface. The frontal area
and related diameters and velocity is necessary to decide about the winnowing velocity of air
blast for separation of lighter materials in air screen grain cleaners.
The shape of product is an important parameter which affects conveying
characteristics of solid materials by air or water. The shape is also considered in calculation
of various cooling and heating loads of food materials.
The frontal area and the related diameters are essential for determination of terminal
velocity, Reynold’s number and drag coefficient. The density and specific gravity are needed
for calculating the thermal diffusivity in heat transfer operations, in determining Reynold’s
number, in pneumatic and hydraulic handling of the agricultural materials.
 The surface characteristics, colour, and appearance are exploited for selective
separation and storage of fruits and vegetables.

Shape and Size

The following parameters may be measured for describing the shape and size of the
granular agricultural materials,
Roundness: it is a measure of the sharpness of then solid material. The most widely accepted
methods for determining the roundness of irregular are given below:
𝐿𝑎𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑕𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑛𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝐴𝑝
Roundness =
𝐴𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑙𝑒, 𝐴𝑐

𝑅𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑣𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒, 𝑟, 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑠𝑕𝑎𝑟𝑝𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑐𝑜𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑟

Roundness ratio =
𝑀𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑟𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑡𝑕𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒, 𝑅

Sphericity: Sphericity may be defined as the ratio of the diameter of a sphere of the same
volume as that of the particle and the diameter of the smallest circumscribing sphere or
generally the largest diameter of the particle. This parameter shows the shape character of the
particle relative to sphere having same volume.
𝐷
Sphericity = 𝐷𝑒
𝑐

𝐷𝑒 - diameter of sphere having same volume as that of the particle

𝐷𝐶 - diameter of smallest circumscribing sphere.

Considering the volume of the particle is equal to the volume of a ellipsoid having
three axes with intercepts: l, b and t and diameter of circumscribed sphere is the largest
intercept, l, of the ellipsoid as shown in fig. the degree of
sphericity can be expressed as:
 3 𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒
Sphericity = √
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑖𝑟𝑐𝑢𝑚𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑖𝑏𝑒𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑕𝑒𝑟𝑒

1
𝜋
𝑙𝑏𝑡 3
6
=[ 𝜋 3 ]
𝑙
6

1
(𝑙 𝑏 𝑡 )3
=
𝑙

l-largest intercept, b-largest intercept perpendicular to l, t- largest intercept perpendicular to l

and b
Porosity: It is defined as the percentage of volume of interspace to the volume of grain bulk.
The percent value of different grains in bulk is often needed in drying, airflow and heat flow
studies of grains.
Porosity depends on: a) shape
b) dimensions and
c) roughness of the grain surface.
Porosity of some crops is tabulated as follows:
Grain Porosity (%)
Corn 40-45
Wheat 50-55
Paddy 48-50
oat 65-70

Coefficient of friction and angle of repose:

Frictional properties of grains play an important role in selection of design features of
hoppers, chutes, dryers, storage bins and other equipment for grain flow.
Coefficient of friction: The coefficient of friction between granular material is equal to the
tangent of the angle of internal friction of the material. The frictional coefficient depends
upon: a) grain shape
b) surface characteristics and
c) moisture content.
Angle of repose: the angle of repose between the
base and the slope of the cone formed on a free
vertical fall of the granular material to a horizontal
plane. The size shape, moisture content and
orientation of the grains affect the angle of repose.
Angle of repose is calculated using the following
equation:
 2(𝐻𝑎 − 𝐻𝑏 )
𝜑𝐴𝑅 = tan−1
𝐷𝑏
Where,
𝜑𝐴𝑅 – Angle of Repose, degrees
𝐻𝑎 – Height of cone, cm or m
𝐻𝑏 – Height of platform, cm or m
𝐷𝑏 – Diameter of platform, cm or m.

Thermal properties:
The thermal properties like specific heat, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity,
enthalpy, surface heat transfer coefficient, emissivity etc, are important for the development
of any thermal processing system. The thermal processing may include heating, cooling,
freezing, drying etc. there are some other thermal properties like melting or freezing points,
latent heats, heat of adsorption, heat of respiration, coefficient of thermal expansion etc., but
these are not of much importance for the most heat transfer applications.
To design dryer, the calculations of heat requirement is the most important step. For
calculations of sensible and latent heat requirements, the thermal properties like specific heat
and thermal conductivity should be known.
Specific heat:
The specific heat may be defined as the amount of heat in kilocalories that must be
added to or removed from 1 kg of a substance to change its temperature by 1℃. The specific
heat of wet agricultural material is the sum of specific heats of bone dry material and its
moisture content. If Cd and Cw are the specific heats of bone dry material and water
respectively, and m is the moisture content of the material in percent wet basis, then the
specific heat can be expressed as given below:
𝑚 100−𝑚
C = (100) 𝐶𝑤 + ( ) 𝐶𝑑 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑙/𝑘𝑔℃
100

Thermal conductivity:
The thermal conductivity may be defined as the rate of heat flow through unit
thickness of material per unit area normal to the direction pf heat flow and per unit time for
unit temperature difference. It is a measure of ability of the material to conduct heat. The
thermal conductivity can be express by the following equation:
𝑄 = 𝐾 𝐴 ∆𝑇
Where Q = amount of heat flow, kcal
A = area, 𝑚2
∆T = temperature difference in the direction of heat flow, ℃
 K= thermal conductivity, k cal/m.hr.℃
The thermal conductivity of single grain ranges from 0.3-0.6 k cal/m.hr.℃ and bulk
grain varies from 0.10-0.15 k cal/m.hr.℃. the difference is due to the air spaces present in
bulk grain. The thermal conductivity of air is 0.02 k cal/m.hr.℃.

Aero and Hydrodynamic properties

The aero and hydrodynamic properties such as terminal velocity of agricultural
products are important and required for designing of air and water conveying systems and the
separation equipment. The physical properties such as density, shape and size, drag
coefficient etc. are required for calculating the terminal velocity of the material. For example,
in pneumatic conveying and separation processes the material is lifted only when the air
velocity is greater than its terminal velocity.
Terminal Velocity
The terminal velocity of a particle may be defined as equal to the air velocity at which
a particle remains suspended state in a vertical pipe.in the condition of free fall, the particle
attains a constant terminal velocity, Vt, the net gravitational accelerating force, ESg, equals
the resisting upward drag force, Fr.
In the steady state conditions, after attaining the terminal velocity, if the density of the
particle is greater than the density of fluid, the particle will move downward. If the density of
the particle is lesser than the density of the fluid, the particle will rise upward.
Drying and Dehydration
Syllabus points
1. Definition of Drying and dehydration
2. Utilities/importance of drying
3. Grain drying theory- EMC definition
4. Thin layer drying and deep bed drying
Drying refers to removal of moisture from grains and other products to a pre-determined
level, whereas dehydration means removal of moisture to very low levels usually to bone
dry condition.
Drying is defined as a thermo-physical and physico-chemical operation by which the
excess moisture from a product is removed.
Utilities or importance of drying:
Drying is most effective unit operation for protection of food grains and safe storage of
agricultural products. Proper drying makes the material stable and the attack of insects and
micro-organisms during storage period can be kept at negligible level. Various other
advantages of drying are given below:
1. Drying permits early harvest of crops. This leads to reduction of losses by shattering.
This also leads to permit time for preparation of land for sowing of
following/succeeding crop
2. Drying helps in proper planning of harvesting season.
3. Drying of agricultural products to optimum moisture content results in safe storage of
products over a longer period.
4. Storage of products after drying makes products available during off seasons.
5. When grains are stored, due to increase in the temperature and moisture content, heat
of respiration also increases. The heat of respiration can be removed by aeration and
drying. Thus the temperature and moisture content of products can be brought down
and the viability of seeds could be maintained.
6. Some agricultural by-products and waste products can also be converted into useful
products by proper drying.
Grain Drying Theory
Equilibrium moisture content (EMC)
Most of the agricultural products, specially the food grains absorb moisture from
environment or loose moisture. When the ambient temperature rises and humidity of air
decreases, the water present in food grains vaporises, consequently, grains loose moisture
which results in drying. Thus, we find that at particular condition the moisture content of
grains depends upon the temperature and relative humidity of the environment. If the vapour
pressure of water present in grains is more than the vapour pressure of water vapours in air,
the water present in grain vaporizes and diffuses in the atmosphere. This property of gaining
or loosing of moisture as per the atmospheric conditions is known as hygroscopicity.
‘The moisture content attained by a grain with respect to a set of atmospheric temperature
and relative humidity is called the equilibrium moisture content (EMC) of the grain.’
Thin layer drying:
The thin layer drying process shows the condition of nearly complete exposure of grains to
heated air. This thickness of grains in thin layer drying is normally upto 15 cm.
Deep bed drying:
In deep bed dryers, the drying takes place in a drying zone and the layer of grains is more
than 15 cm. At heated or drying air entry point, drying of
products start. A drying zone is formed above the bottom
layer which comes in contact of heated air. Bulk of drying
takes place in the drying zone and this moves along the
direction of drying air