Abstract
Abstract Four cultivars of greenhouse tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) were grown in a 0.2-ha experimental greenhouse complex designed to compare heat exchange systems using condenser cooling water from the Browns Ferry Nuclear Plant near Athens, Alabama, with a conventional heating system. The greenhouse was divided into 3 zones; 2 used condenser cooling water as the heat source, and the other was heated conventionally with liquid propane gas (LPG). Heating tests showed that the heat exchangers using condenser cooling water performed within design expectations and maintained greenhouse temperatures 5.6° to 6.6°C below condenser cooling water temperatures. However, due to unexpectedly low and fluctuating condenser cooling water temperatures, greenhouse temperatures necessary for optimum tomato production could not be maintained when ambient temperatures were below −11.1°C. Tomato yields ranged from 5.5 to 6.5 kg/plant in the zones heated with condenser cooling water compared with 6.9 to 7.5 kg/plant in the conventionally heated zone.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
