Book Description

Greenhouses and shelter structures for tropical regions is a manual in the series of technical papers prepared by the FAO Horticultural Crops Group, Crop and Grassland Service, Plant Protection Division. The text provides technical guidelines for the design and construction of simple and low-cost shelter structures in the tropics and also reviews the cultivation practices to be applied for sustainable and intensified crop management under these greenhouses structures. There is a range of possibilities depending on the crop requirements, the specific climate conditions of the area, marketing considerations and financial parameters. Detailed technical specifications are given, including drawings, illustrations and diagrams of various construction types. Contents Chapter 1: Introduction; Chapter 2: Climates of tropical regions; Climatic elements, Solar radiation, Temperature, Precipitation, Evapotranspiration, Storms, Classification of climates, Equatorial zone, Sub-tropical(C), Dry climates (B), Highlands; Chapter 3: Problems and Possibilities for vegetable production; Chapter 4: Construction and covering material; Requirements, Ar: Tropical wet climates, Aw: Tropical wet and dry climates, Cf: Sub-tropical humid, Dry climates, Tropical highlands, Cs: Sub-tropical dry summer/ mediterranean, Constructions, Design criteria, Greenhouse constructions, Materials for greenhouses construction, Constructions for tropical wet (Ar) and tropical wet and dry (Aw) climates, Constructions for sub-tropical (Cf) climates and higlands (H), Shade houses, Covering materials, fastening and stretching of covering materials, Windbreaks; Chapter 5: Ventilation and cooling; Ventilation, Cooling, Pad efficiency, Pad material and pad thickness, Pad area and fan-to-pad distance, Pad location, Fans, Operation of fan and pad systems, Air-flow rate, Water-flow rate; Chapter 6: Crop-water requirements and rainwater storage; Crop-water requirements, Calculation of storage volume, Design of storage volume, Design of storage basins, Earth basin, Earth basin with plastic films, Earth basin with lining of concrete blocks and plastic film, Concrete basin.