Abstract:
Greenhouses are framed or inflated structure covered with transparent
or translucent material large enough to grow crops under partial or fully
controlled environmental conditions to get optimum growth and productivity.
Greenhouse have many advantages and some limitations also. Due to this
farmer are abandoning this cultivation method citing crop failures after the
initial phase. Thus, a survey was conducted to explore the reasons of failures
of greenhouse farmers in Kerala covering all fourteen districts. Major problem
faced by farmers was crop failure due to ageing of cladding material. So that
fungal growth and dust deposit over the cladding material reduce the light
transmission to the greenhouse which affect its microclimate and growth and
yield parameters. To prove this, a field experiment was conducted during the
period from April to June 2021 in the instructional farm of KCAET, Tavanur,
Kerala.
CO-1(Amaranthus green variety) was planted inside both cleaned
greenhouse and uncleaned greenhouse (greenhouse without cleaned cladding
material) and compared the microclimate and performance of Amaranthus in
both conditions. Mean monthly values of light intensity and temperature were
higher inside the cleaned greenhouse than the uncleaned one while relative
humidity was higher inside the old greenhouse. Thus, crop growth parameters
like plant height, number of leaves, number of branches and average yield per
plant were higher inside the cleaned greenhouse than the old one whereas the
inter nodal length of the plant was higher inside the old greenhouse. From this
experiment, it was clear that the aging of cladding material has much
influence on crop performance under the greenhouse.
Other major problems faced by farmers were a decrease in soil
fertility, Fungal/Insect attack inside the greenhouse, high maintenance cost
and structural problems of greenhouse, no demand and marketing facility of
greenhouse products, etc. From the statistical analysis of survey details, it was
clear that farmers are not satisfied with the greenhouse.
