1,721,032 research outputs found
A comparison between two methods to control nutrient delivery to greenhouse melons grown in recirculating nutrient solution culture
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Estimation of hydraulic properties of growing media with a one-step outflow technique
No full textAn application of the improved iterative method for the simultaneous deter-mination of the hydraulic properties of growing media using the one-step experiment is described for highly porous media. Substrate hydraulic properties were character-ized by the Brooks and Corey equation for water retention, and by the Kozeny power equation for hydraulic conductivity. The iterative procedure has been tested with a particular class of growing media generally used for container plant cultivation, represented by pure peat, pumice, and a 25:75 Peat:Pumice mix. The previously optimized One-Step method with Peat:Pumice ratio in the range from 1:0 to 1:1, was tested on five replications over the new range from 1:3 to 0:1. By analyzing the mean cumulative outflow curves recorded versus time, an estimation of hydraulic functions was derived. Estimated water retention was compared with nine experimental data¬sets and with estimation by the Van Genuchten model. Normalizing the saturated water content, the two models overlap except for the “wet” range near saturation. Estimated hydraulic conductivity was compared with the estimation derived from the Van Genuchten-Mualem equation involving 3 and/or 4-parameter analysis. Compar¬isons showed a good similarity between model estimations
Green façades to enhance climate control inside buildings
No full textGreen technology can represent a sustainable solution for construction of new buildings and for retrofitting of existing buildings, in order to reduce the energy demands of the buildings’ cooling systems, to mitigate the urban heat island and to improve the thermal energy performance of buildings. Green walls can allow the physical shading of the building, promote evapotranspiration in summer and increase thermal insulation in winter. An experimental test was carried out at the University of Bari (Italy) for 2 years. Three vertical walls, made with perforated bricks, were tested: two were covered with evergreen plants (Pandorea jasminoides and Rhyncospermum jasminoides), while the third wall was kept uncovered and used as a control. Several climatic parameters concerning the walls and the ambient conditions were collected during the experimental test. Daylight temperatures observed on the shielded walls during warm days were lower than the respective temperatures of the uncovered wall by up to 9.0°C. Night-time temperatures during cold days for the vegetated walls were higher than the respective temperatures of the control wall by up to 6.0°C. The absence in the literature of data concerning different seasons of the year is overcome in order to obtain a complete picture of building thermal performance in the Mediterranean climate region
Green façades to enhance climate control inside buildings
No full textGreen technology can represent a sustainable solution for construction of new buildings and for retrofitting of existing buildings, in order to reduce the energy demands of the buildings’ cooling systems, to mitigate the urban heat island and to improve the thermal energy performance of buildings. Green walls can allow the physical shading of the building, promote evapotranspiration in summer and increase thermal insulation in winter. An experimental test was carried out at the University of Bari (Italy) for 2 years. Three vertical walls, made with perforated bricks, were tested: two were covered with evergreen plants (Pandorea jasminoides and Rhyncospermum jasminoides), while the third wall was kept uncovered and used as a control. Several climatic parameters concerning the walls and the ambient conditions were collected during the experimental test. Daylight temperatures observed on the shielded walls during warm days were lower than the respective temperatures of the uncovered wall by up to 9.0°C. Night-time temperatures during cold days for the vegetated walls were higher than the respective temperatures of the control wall by up to 6.0°C. The absence in the literature of data concerning different seasons of the year is overcome in order to obtain a complete picture of building thermal performance in the Mediterranean climate region
The relationship between mineral nutrition and fruit yield components in melon grown in recirculating nutrient solution culture
No full textEffetto del paclobutrazolo sulla crescita della gardenia (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis) da vaso fiorito
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Energy efficiency in agro-food industry
No full textIn Europe the total amount of the economic turnover of food industry was 950 billion Eur in 2010. The food industry in Italy represents one of the most important manufacturing sectors with a turnover of 124 billion Eur. In 2010 the Italian agro-food system in its wider meaning of agriculture and food industry, has reached a global annual value of 250 billion €, of which only 2% from agriculture. On the base of its six major sub-systems, namely the air, the steam, the motor and pumps, the compressed air, the cooling and refrigeration process, the heating and lighting of buildings, the agro-food industry requires energy for heating, cooling, electricity and transport. In 2005 in Europe-15, the final energy consumption of the agrofood system was 1,073,604 TJ. However, in 2011, the Italian food industry, accounted for an energy final budget of 2.9 Mtoe, according to a total final energy consumption of the agro-food system (agriculture and food industry) of 16.43 Mtoe. In the last years, the globalization process and the evolving of habits and lifestyle of consumers in demand for new food and way of consumption have changed profoundly the agro-food industry. These changes contributed to develop a big mass retailer sector, with a strong increase in energy demand of food chains. This paper briefly illustrates the energy consumption, and after which it discusses some of the measures, policies and technologies to improve both the energy efficiency and the effective use of energy in the agro-food system
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