| dc.description.abstract | is discussed as an example. The high altitude tropical climate of the Bogota
plateau is characterized and the necessity for protected tomato cultivation is
explained. As a consequence of the specific climate conditions in the high tropics and
the climate demand of tomatoes, several adaptations to the classical Colombian
plastic greenhouse, originally developed for rose and carnation, were tested. The
following strategies, mainly aiming at increased greenhouse night temperatures are
discussed: glass versus polyethylene, additional heating, screening, closing of the
vents. The presented research methodologies heavily rely on system dynamic
modeling and simulation. This methodology allows optimization of the plant-climate
interaction over a vast range of different micro-climates, typically the situation that
occurs in the high tropics, without extensive and expensive needs for local
experimentation. It is demonstrated that the limited greenhouse effect for night time
temperature buffering in Colombian plastic greenhouses is mainly due to tropical
day length effects and to a lesser extent to greenhouse structures and coverage. The
extreme day and night temperatures are the main problem in the optimization of the
choice of specific locations for protected tomato cultivation in the high tropics. As a
conclusion some perspectives for the Colombian protected tomato industry in
particular and for the high altitude tropical production systems in general are
presented. | |
