GREENHOUSE TECHNOLOGY

Growing plants is both an art and a science. About 95% of plants, either food crops or cash crops are grown in open field. Since time immemorial, man has learnt how to grow plants under natural environmental conditions. In some of the temperate regions where the climatic conditions are extremely adverse and no crops can be grown, man has developed methods of growing some high. Value crop continuously by providing protection from the excessive cold, which is called as Greenhouse Technology. So, Greenhouse Technology is the technique of providing favorable environment condition to the plants. It is rather used to protect the plants from the adverse climatic conditions such as wind, cold, precipitation, excessive radiation, extreme temperature, insects and diseases. It is also of vital importance to create an ideal micro climate around the plants. Greenhouses are framed or inflated structures covered with transparent or translucent material large enough to grow crops under partial or fully controlled environmental conditions to get optimum growth and productivity. Agriculture is the backbone of India's economic activity and our experience during the last 50 years has demonstrated the strong correlation between agricultural growth and economic prosperity. The present agricultural scenario is a mix of outstanding achievements and missed opportunities. If India has to emerge as an economic power in the world, our agricultural productivity should equal those countries, which are currently rated as economic power of the world. We need a new and effective technology which can improve continuously the productivity, profitability, sustainability of our major farming systems. One such technology is the greenhouse technology. Although it is centuries old, it is new to India.