Computational Fluid Dynamics Modelling of the Microclimate within the Boundary Layer of Leaves Leading to Improved Pest Control Management and Low-Input Greenhouse

Hicham Fatnassi, Thierry Boulard, Christine Poncet, Nikolaos Katsoulas, Thomas Bartzanas, Murat Kacira, Habtamu Giday and In-Bok Lee
Additional contact information
Hicham Fatnassi: International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Dubai 14660, United Arab Emirates
Thierry Boulard: Université Côte d’Azur, INRAE, CNRS, UMR ISA, 06000 Nice, France
Christine Poncet: Université Côte d’Azur, INRAE, CNRS, UMR ISA, 06000 Nice, France
Nikolaos Katsoulas: Department of Agriculture Crop Production and Rural Environment, University of Thessaly, 38446 Volos, Greece
Thomas Bartzanas: Department of Natural Resources Management and Agricultural Engineering, Agricultural University of Athens, 11855 Athens, Greece
Murat Kacira: Department of Biosystems Engineering, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ 85721, USA
Habtamu Giday: International Center for Biosaline Agriculture, Dubai 14660, United Arab Emirates
In-Bok Lee: Laboratory of Aero-Environmental Engineering, Department of Rural System Engineering College of Agriculture and Life Science, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-13

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.

Keywords: CFD modeling tool; leaf boundary layer microclimate; smart microclimate control; sustainable pest management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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