Structural suitability of bamboo for screenhouse construction in the humid tropics
About this article
Keywords:
Bamboo; Climate; Greenhouse; Screenhouse; Temperature.Abstract
The growing need of structures for controlled environment agriculture in the face of climate change cannot be overstated. While year-round crop production is possible in greenhouse farm-ing, procurement costs for conventional greenhouses is high. The use of readily-available local materials such as bamboo in the construction of greenhouses can help reduce construction costs. The objective of this study was therefore, to develop a bamboo-framed greenhouse (BfG) and to evaluate its structural suitability and micro-climate in comparison with an existing greenhouse (ExG) framed with mild steel. Climatic factors (temperature, humidity, and light) and vapour pressure deficit (VPD) were measured in BfG, ExG, and ambient. Using tomato as test crop, evaluation of crop performance was based on stem girth, number of leaves and yield, monitored in comparison with open field cultivation in a nearby plot. Temperature ranges in the BfG, ExG and ambient were 27.03 – 33.32 oC, 29.81 – 38.89 oC, and 25.27 – 28.33 oC, respectively, while relative-humidity ranged between 65.78–83.25%, 56.47–78.86% and 78.13–91.83%, respective-ly. The bamboo framed screenhouse performed satisfactorily and withstood several storm events for close to three years. Farmers in the humid tropics are advised that service life of bamboo-framed screenhouses is about two and half years.
References
[1] Ajwang P.O., Tantau H.J., 2005. Prediction of the Effect of Insect-Proof Screens on Climate in a Naturally Ventilated Greenhouse in Humid Trop-ical Climates, Acta Horticulturae, Int. Soc. Horticultural Sci. (ISHS), Leuven, Belgium, pp. 449-456, https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2005.691.54.
[2] Akpenpuun, T.D., Ogunlowo, Q.O., Rabiu, A., Adesanya, M.A., Na, W-H., Omobowale, M.O., Mijinyawa, Y., Lee, H-W., 2022. Building Simula-tion model application to greenhouse microclimate, covering material and thermal blanket modelling: A Review. Nigerian Journal of Technological Development (NJTD), 19 (3), 276-286. https://doi.org/10.4314/njtd.v19i3.10.
[3] Al-Mulla Y.A., Al-Balushi, M., Al-Rawahy, M., Al-Makhmary S., Al-Raisy F., 2011. Evaluation of Microclimatological Parameters inside a Screenhouse used in Arid Regions. Acta Horticulturae. 893:509-516. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2011.893.51.
[4] Arellano, M.A., Garcia, S., Sanchez, A., Soria-Ruiz, J., Valera, D.L., Urrestarazu, M., 2006. Greenhouse Microclimate and its Natural Variation in Two Subtypes of an Almeria Greenhouse. Acta Hort., 719: 147-156. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.719.14.
[5] Auwalu F.K., Dickson P.D., 2019. Bamboo as a Sustainable Material for Building construction in Nigeria. Civil and Environmental Research, Vol.11, No.8, 2019. https://doi.org/10.7176/CER.
View more references (32)
[6] Awalluddin, D., Ariffin, M. A. M., Osman, M. H., Hussin, M. W., Ismail, M. A., Lee, H. S., Lim, N. H. A. S., 2017. Mechanical Properties of dif-ferent Bamboo species. In MATEC web of conferences (Vol. 138, p. 01024). EDP Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1051/matecconf/201713801024.
[7] Bautista B.E., Garciano L.E.O., Lopez L.F., 2021. Comparative Analysis of Shear Strength Parallel to Fiber of Different Local Bamboo Species in the Philippines. Journal of Sustainability, 13, pp. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13158164.
[8] Chaokun H., Haitao L., Rodolfo L., Gang W., Ileana C., Ottavia C., Zhenhua X., Dong Y. Huizhong Z, 2019. Review on Connections for Original Bamboo Structures. Journal of Renewable Materials, vol.7, No.8, 713 – 730. https://doi.org/10.32604/jrm.2019.07647.
[9] Dicken U, Cohen S., Tanny J., 2012. Effect of Plant Development on Turbulent Fluxes of a Screenhouse Banana Blantation. Irrigation Science, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-012-0346-0.
[10] Gomes, J.A., Barbosa, N.P., Beraldo, A.L., Melo, A.B.D., 2021. Physical and Mechanical Properties of the Bambusa vulgaris as Construction Ma-terial. Engenharia Agrícola, 41, 119-126. https://doi.org/10.1590/1809-4430-eng.agric.v41n2p119-126/2021.
[11] Inas Z., Ibrahim A., Amany M., Osama A. and Abdelhamid A., 2017. Microclimate in Relation to Productivity and Water Use Efficiency of Screenhouse Banana Crop cv. Grand Naine. Alexandria Science Exchange Journal, Vol.38, No.4 OctobEr- December 2017. https://doi.org/10.21608/asejaiqjsae.2017.4801.
[12] Javadian A., Smith I.F., Saeidi N., Hebel, D.E., 2019. Mechanical Properties of Bamboo through Measurement of Culm Physical Properties for Composite Fabrication of Structural Concrete Reinforcement. Frontiers in Materials, 6, 15. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmats.2019.00015.
[13] Liu H., Huang G., Cohen S., Tanny J., 2009. Change in Crop Evapotranspiration and Associated Influencing Factors under Screenhouse Condi-tions. Zhongguo Shengtai Nongye Xuebao / Chinese Journal of Eco-Agriculture. 17(3):484-488. https://doi.org/10.3724/SP.J.1011.2009.00484.
[14] Mahmood A., Hu Y., Tanny J., Asante E.A., 2018. Effects of Shading and Insect-Proof Screens on Crop Microclimate and Production: A Review of Recent Advances. Scientia Horticulturae, 241, 241-251. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2018.06.078.
[15] Moller M., Tanny J., Cohen S., Teitel M., 2003. Micrometeorological Measurements in a Screenhouse. Acta Hortic. (ISHS) 614, 445–451. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2003.614.67.
[16] Moller M., Tanny J., Li Y., Cohen S., 2004. Measuring and Predicting Evapotranspiration in an Insect-Proof Screenhouse. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology 127:35-51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2004.08.002.
[17] Moller M., Assouline S., 2007. Effects of a Shading Screen on Microclimate and Crop Water Requirements. Irrigation. Sci. 25:171-181. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-006-0045-9.
[18] Moroz J.G., Lissel S.L., Hagel,M.D., 2014. Performance of Bamboo Reinforced Concrete Masonry Shear Walls”, Construction and Building Mate-rials, 61, 125–137. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2014.02.006.
[19] Ogunwusi A.A., Onwualu A.P., 2013. Prospects for Multi-Functional Utilisation of Bamboo in Nigeria, 3(8), 58–71.
[20] Olorunnisola A.O., 2018. Design of Solid Wood Columns. In: Design of Structural Elements with Tropical Hardwoods. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65343-3_9.
[21] Rajender G., Sushanth K., Mithun K., Devender B., Raju D., Anoosha K., 2017. Design and Development of Low-Cost Greenhouse to Raise Dif-ferent Cultivars. International Journal of Agricultural Science and Research (IJASR) ISSN(P): 2250-0057; ISSN(E): 2321-0087 Vol. 7, Issue 3, Jun 2017, 29-36. https://doi.org/10.1002/sim.7110.
[22] Ribeiro R.A.S., Ribeiro M.G.S., Miranda I.P., 2017. Bending strength and nondestructive evaluation of structural bamboo. Construction and build-ing materials, 146, 38-42. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2017.04.074.
[23] Rosales M.A., Cervilla L.M., Sánchez‐Rodríguez E., Rubio‐Wilhelmi M.D.M., Blasco B., Ríos J.J., Ruiz J.M., 2011. The effect of environmental conditions on nutritional quality of cherry tomato fruits: evaluation of two experimental Mediterranean greenhouses. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 91(1), 152-162. https://doi.org/10.1002/jsfa.4166.
[24] Sadiku N.A., Bada S.O., Oluyege A.O., Ajayi B., Iyiola E.A., 2016. Density, Porosity and Dimensional Changes of Naturally - Grown Bambusa vulgaris. 46. 68 - 74.
[25] Saltuk B., 2019. Structural Analysis Example Steel Construction Greenhouses. European Journal of Science and Technology, (16), 61-68. https://doi.org/10.31590/ejosat.544986.
[26] Santos B., Rios D., Nazco R., 2006. Climatic conditions in tomato screenhouse in Tenerife (Canary Islands). Acta Hort. 719:215-221. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2006.719.23.
[27] Speetjens S.L., Hemming S., Wang D., Tsay J., 2012. Design of a vegetable greenhouse system for subtropical conditions in Taiwan (No. 1189). Wageningen UR Greenhouse Horticulture.
[28] Tanny J., Haijun L., Cohen S., 2006. Airflow characteristics, energy balance and eddy covariance measurements in a banana screenhouse. Agricul-tural and Forest Meteorology, 139, 105 - 118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2006.06.004.
[29] Tanny J., Dicken U., Cohen S., 2010. Vertical variation in turbulence statistics and energy balance in a banana screenhouse. Biosystems Engineering, 106(2), 175 - 187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2010.03.008.
[30] Tanny J., 2013. Microclimate and evapotranspiration of crops covered by agricultural screens: A review. Biosystems Engineering, 114, 26-43. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2012.10.008.
[31] Teitel M., 2007. The effect of screened openings on greenhouse microclimate. Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 143, 159 - 175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2007.01.005.
[32] Teitel M., Garcia-Teruel M., Alon H., Gantz S., Tanny J., Esquira I., Sofer M., Levi A., Schwartz A., Antler A., 2014. The effect of screenhouse height on air temperature. Acta Horticulturae. 1037:517-523. https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2014.1037.64.
[33] Teitel M., Liang H., Vitoshkin H., Tanny J., Ozer S., 2020. Airflow Patterns and Turbulence Characteristics above the Canopy of a Tomato Crop in a Roof-Ventilated Insect-Proof Screenhouse; Biosystems Engineering 190; pp. 184-200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biosystemseng.2019.12.001.
[34] Van-der-Lugt P, Van-den-Dobbelsteen A., Janssen J., 2006. An environmental, economic and practical assessment of bamboo as a building material for supporting structures. Construction Building Materials, Vol 20(9):648–656. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2005.02.023.
[35] Villagran E., Ramires R., Rodriguez A., Pacheco R.L., Jaramillo J., 2020. Simulation of the Thermal and Aerodynamic Behavior of an Established Screenhouse under Warm Tropical Climate Conditions: A Numerical Approach; International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 487-499. https://doi.org/10.18280/ijsdp.150409.
[36] Xu Q, Harries K, Li X, Liu Q, Gottron J., 2014. Mechanical Properties of Structural Bamboo following Immersion in Water. Engineering Structures, 81, 230–239. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.engstruct.2014.09.044.
[37] Zakir E., Ogunlowo Q.O., Akpenpuun T.D., Na W-H., Adesanya M.A., Rabiu A., Adedeji, O.S., Kim, H-T., Lee, H-W., 2022. Effect of thermal screen position on greenhouse microclimate and its impact on crop growth and yield. Nigerian Journal of Technological Development, 19 (4), 417-431. https://doi.org/10.4314/njtd.v19i4.15.