Greenhouses in Madurai

A greenhouse (also called a glasshouse, or, if with sufficient heating, a hothouse) is a structure with walls and roof made chiefly of transparent material, such as glass, in which plants requiring regulated climatic conditions are grown.

Greenhouses are frames of inflated structure covered with a transparent material in which crops are grown under controlled environment conditions. Greenhouse cultivation as well as other modes of controlled environment cultivation have been evolved to create favorable micro-climates, which favours the crop production could be possible all through the year or part of the year as required. Greenhouses and other technologies for controlled environment plant production are associated with the off-season production of ornamentals and foods of high value in cold climate areas where outdoor production is not possible. The primary environmental parameter traditionally controlled is temperature, usually providing heat to overcome extreme cold conditions. However, environmental control can also include (Greenhouses in Madurai) cooling to mitigate excessive temperatures, light control either shading or adding supplemental light, carbon dioxide levels, relative humidity, water, plant nutrients and pest control.(Greenhouses in Madurai)

The use of the greenhouse is mainly for producing seasonal and non-seasonal crops, for the production of high-quality flowers, vegetables, and the preparation of nursery prepared by tissue culture.(Greenhouses in Madurai)

The design of greenhouse should be based upon sound scientific principles which facilitates controlled environment for the plant growth. Controlled environment plant production systems are used widely throughout the world to produce plant materials and products at a time or place, or of a quality that can not be obtained outdoors. Controlled environment agriculture requires far more capital investment per unit area than field agriculture and thus must essentially be correspondingly more intensive to justify investment costs. The greenhouse is a structure covered with a transparent material for admitting natural light for plant growth. (Greenhouses in Madurai) The main components of greenhouse like structure, covering/glazing and temperature control systems need proper design for healthy growth of plants.

The duration of crop in greenhouse is the key to make the greenhouse technology profitable or the duration of production in greenhouses should be short. In this context, use of containers in greenhouse production assumes greater significance. The containers are used for the following activities in greenhouse production.

• Raising of seedlings in the nursery
• Growing plants in greenhouses for hybrid seed production of flowers
• Growing plants for cutflower production.
• Growing potted ornamental plants.

About Madurai

Madurai is a major city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the cultural capital of Tamil Nadu and the administrative headquarters of Madurai District. As of the 2011 census, it was the third largest Urban agglomeration in Tamil Nadu after Chennai and Coimbatore and the 44th most populated city in India. Located on the banks of River Vaigai, Madurai has been a major settlement for two millennia. It is often referred to as "Thoonga Nagaram", meaning "the city which never sleeps".

Madurai is closely associated with the Tamil language, and the third Tamil Sangam, a major congregation of Tamil scholars said to have been held in the city. The recorded history of the city goes back to the 3rd century BCE, being mentioned by Megasthenes, the Greek ambassador to the Maurya empire, and Kautilya, a minister of the Mauryan emperor Chandragupta Maurya. Signs of human settlements and Roman trade links dating back to 300 BCE are evident from excavations by Archeological Survey of India in Manalur.[11][12][13] The city is believed to be of significant antiquity and has been ruled, at different times, by the Pandyas, Cholas, Madurai Sultanate, Vijayanagar Empire, Madurai Nayaks, Carnatic kingdom, and the British East India Company British Raj.