The Tecnova Technology Center has implemented a new refrigeration system for greenhouses in Cairo, Egypt, which will solve climate management problems in this country, and has completed the construction of a 1.7 hectare prototype that will endorse the conclusions of trials developed at Tecnova.
This action comes after the Egyptian government signed a collaboration agreement with CT Tecnova to solve a historical handicap in the country's agricultural sector, the agency said in a statement.
"Tecnova is a specialist in high productivity technology for temperate climates. Our R&D&I area constantly innovates in this type of processes with the objective of reducing production costs, increasing production yields and responding to historical problems in our sector," said its president, Ángel Barranco.
The technology developed by Almeria's technological center is highly valued in the Gulf countries, where the high temperatures impact farm productivity in a negative way. Hence, Egypt's need for state-of-the-art technology to help climate control in warm areas such as Cairo.
Since the introduction of greenhouses in warm regions, such as the Mediterranean basin, North Africa and the tropics, there has been a need to reduce the heat generated by solar radiation. These environments, hot and sunny, make it difficult to produce under cover at times of maximum solar charge, affecting the temperature of the air in the greenhouse, as well as the overall production performance.
The excess temperature causes damages in the morphology and in the different physiological processes of the plants, such as floral formation, leaf burns, poor fruit quality, excess transpiration, shortening of crop life and reduction of net photosynthesis.
The newly built greenhouse, after the project developed by Tecnova, includes a system that is composed of a fan located at the beginning of each crop line, which is able to displace a large amount of air with any given pressure.
The forced air will allow the control of the temperature and the humidity in function of the renovations that are established in the proximity of each plant. The air injected is climate controlled by an evaporation panel system which can either reduce or raise temperatures as needed.
With this project, CT Tecnova will test the prototype and the innovations proposed for the development of new technologies in warm climates, having as a testing ground a scenario as unique as Egypt itself.
Source: Europa Press