Abstract
This work aims at using the Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) approach to study the distributed microclimate in the leaf boundary layer of greenhouse crops. Understanding the interactions in this microclimate of this natural habitat of plant pests (i.e., boundary layer of leaves), is a prerequisite for their control through targeted climate management for sustainable greenhouse production. The temperature and humidity simulations, inside the greenhouse, were performed using CFD code which has been adapted to simulate the plant activity within each mesh in the crop canopy. The air temperature and air humidity profiles within the boundary layer of leaves were deduced from the local surrounding climate parameters, based on an analytical approach, encapsulated in a Used Defined Function (UDF), and dynamically linked to the CFD solver, a work that forms an innovative and original task. Thus, this model represents a new approach to investigate the microclimate in the boundary layer of leaves under greenhouses, which resolves the issue of the inaccessibility of this area by the conventionnel measurement tools. The findings clearly showed that (i) contrarily to what might be expected, the microclimate parameters within the boundary layer of leaves are different from the surrounding climate in the greenhouse. This is particularly visible during photoperiods when the plant’s transpiration activity is at its maximum and that (ii) the climatic parameters in the leaf boundary layer are more coupled with leaf surfaces than with those of greenhouse air. These results can help developing localized intervention strategies on the microclimate within boundary layer of plant leaves, leading to improved and sustainable pest control management. The developed climatic strategies will make it possible to optimize resources use efficiency.
Highlights
Knowing which factors contribute to the elaboration of the microclimate in the natural habitats of plants pests, is crucial for the development of non-chemical methods of plant protection [1]
Most studies investigated only considering local boundary layer climate of a single leaf and not considering the boundary layer microclimate of the plant canopy in the greenhouse. To extend this microclimatic characterization to the whole plant canopy in the greenhouse, the present study aims at using a Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) model to explore the distribution of climatic parameters within the leaf boundary layer of all plants in the greenhouse
We studied the microclimate in the leaf boundary layer of all plants in the greenhouse
Summary
Knowing which factors contribute to the elaboration of the microclimate in the natural habitats of plants pests, is crucial for the development of non-chemical methods of plant protection [1]. Using an analytical approach, Boulard et al [1] were able to model the temperature and humidity profiles across the boundary layer of the lower side of greenhouse tomato leaves and validated these simulations using the localized air’s relative humidity and temperature measurements. They later analyzed the relationship between the leaf boundary layer climate and air velocity within the whole greenhouse space [7] and highlighted the strong heterogeneity of the climate parameters at leaf surface, air humidity, mainly under the dependence of the spatial distribution of the convective regime
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