Special greenhouse for walnut grafting in arid regions

VÍCTOR GARCÍA,; ADOLFO IRIARTE,; GRACIELA LESINO,; SILVANA FLORES LARSEN; MATÍAS C,

Orlando, Florida

Congreso; Solar World Congress ISES 2005; 2005

ISES - International Solar Energy Society

ABSTRACT Walnut trees are one of the most important products in the province of Catamarca – Argentina. In order to obtain high quality plants, the technique of microbudding in the walnut stock was applied. This requires an adequate environment, where the climatic factors can be controlled. For this purpose, a chamber was built using an old glazed greenhouse, where the temperature, illumination and humidity are controlled, to improve the germination and callus cicatrization of the plants. This paper presents the hygrothermal behavior and agronomic results of the greenhouse. Different grafting techniques were used; successes of 48 %, 84 %, 16%, and 56 % were obtained. The simulation of the greenhouse thermal behavior was done with SIMEDIF for Windows. The simulated and experimental data sets, with a difference of 0.5° C between them, were compared and analyzed, and good agreements were found.