Model-Based Design of Protected Cultivation Systems - First Results and Remaining Challenges

Protected cultivation systems are used throughout the world as a powerful instrument to produce crops. They protect the crops from unfavorable outdoor climate conditions and pests and offer the opportunity to modify the indoor climate to create an environment that is optimal for crop growth and production, both in terms of quality and quantity. A quick scan of protected cultivation systems presently in use reveals that quite a variety of protected cultivation systems can be found throughout the world. They range from fully passive "solar greenhouses" with thick energy storage walls as found in China to the high-tech "closed greenhouses" in Western Europe. This variety is due to local conditions, including the local climate, the availability of resources like water, energy, capital, labor and materials, local legislation and social aspects, to mention a few. This paper presents a methodology of a model based method for designing protected cultivation systems. First results will be reported as well as directions for future research.