Abstract
The performance of gynoecious cucumber (cv. Terminator) was evaluated under three protected structures viz., naturally ventilated polyhouse (NVP), insect proof net house (INH) and shade net house (SNH) at Jodhpur, Rajasthan in hot arid region of India. The photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) inside these structures during cropping period ranged from 154-842 μmol m-2 s-1 which was much lower than the outside. Among structures, air temperature was 1.2°C and 0.7°C lower while relative humidity (RH) was 17 and 4 per cent higher in NVP and SNH respectively as compared to INH. Relatively low air as well as soil temperature, coupled with high RH and optimal radiation in NVP led to better plant growth and physiological activity which resulted in 42 and 142per cent higher yield than INH and SNH, respectively. Hence, it can be recommended that NVP is the best low-tech protected structure which modifies the microclimate favouring successful cultivation of greenhouse cucumber in Indian hot arid regions.
Highlights
Protected cultivation in the arid western plains of India is picking pace because the open field cultivation in this region is highly vulnerable to biotic and abiotic factors (Kumar et al 2019)
The average photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) in the three structures ranged from 154-842 μmol m-2s-1 during the cucumber growing period compared to 130-1847 μmol m-2 s-1 in open conditions (Fig. 1 and Table 1)
Among the structures the least variation in PAR throughout the day and across stages was noted in naturally ventilated polyhouse (NVP) which likely helped to relatively better maintain physiological functioning
Summary
Protected cultivation in the arid western plains of India is picking pace because the open field cultivation in this region is highly vulnerable to biotic and abiotic factors (Kumar et al 2019). There are different types of protected structures that vary from high-tech active climate controlled to low-tech with passive climate control structures. In low-tech protected structures which do not possess artificial means of climate control, the cladding material used is one of the means to affect the microclimatic variables inside the structures. In low-tech protected structures, inside microclimatic parameters are greatly influenced by structural components, especially the cladding material. In this regard, an attempt has been made to study the effect of modified micro-climatic variables occurring inside common low-tech protected structures and their effect on growth, physiology and production of cucumber crop in the hot-arid region of India
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