GREENHOUSE MANAGEMENT

Learn How to Manage a Greenhouse Effectively

Effective greenhouse management requires efficient control of the greenhouse environment. This course teaches you how to select the right greenhouse, site it correctly and efficiently control the greenhouse climate, pests and diseases, lighting, irrigation, and fertilisation. You will also learn about greenhouse automation systems and robotic applications for greenhouse production.

Lesson Structure

There are 9 lessons in this course:

1. Types of Greenhouses
   • Greenhouse Designs for Commercial Nursery Production
   • Greenhouse Construction Methods and Materials
   • What Type of Greenhouse is Appropriate for Your Nursery?
   • Siting Greenhouses
   • Greenhouse Benching
   • What Can You Grow?
   • Environmental Control in Greenhouses
   • Computerised Environmental Control
2. Growing Systems and Equipment
   • How to Grow Plants
   • Measuring Conditions Inside a Greenhouse
   • Environmental Control Systems
   • Getting Plants to Flower Out of Season
3. Pest and Disease Management in Greenhouses
   • How to Stop Pests and Diseases Entering the Greenhouse
   • Detecting and Controlling Pests and Diseases in the Greenhouse
   • Common Greenhouse Diseases
   • Disease Control
4. Temperature Management
   • Temperature Control in a Greenhouse
   • Heating Systems
   • Ventilation Systems
5. Water Management
   • Greenhouse Irrigation
   • Soil and Water
   • When to Irrigate
   • The Nursery Irrigation Program
   • Plants and Water
   • Equipment and Methods
   • Maintenance of Watering Systems
6. Nutrition Management
   • Irrigation and Nutrition Control
   • Liquid Feed Systems
7. Managing Light
   • Importance of Lighting in a Greenhouse
   • Artificial Lighting
   • Measuring Light
   • Controlling Light in the Greenhouse
   • Photoperiod Manipulation
   • Growth Rooms
   • Efficient Lighting Control
8. Managing Gasses
   • Carbon Dioxide Enrichment
   • Pollutant Gases
   • Temperature Control Systems (Ventilation)
9. Automation and Robotic Applications for Greenhouse Production
   • Automation in Vegetable Nurseries

Aims

• Compare different types of greenhouses to better match the plants to be grown inside the greenhouse to be built.
• Explain the equipment and measuring devices (manual and automated) used inside a greenhouse to help grow plants more effectively.
• Explain options for reducing the impact of pests and diseases on plants grown inside greenhouses.
• Detect and control the temperature within an optimal growing range for plants being grown in a greenhouse.
• Control water in a greenhouse, including irrigation and humidity.
• Control nutrient levels in a greenhouse at optimal levels for plant growth and health.
• Explain how light levels can be maintained in a greenhouse for optimal plant production.
• Explain how to best manage the air characteristics inside a greenhouse.
• Explain how greenhouse production can be automated.