Plant oriented control system based upon vapor pressure deficit data

Abstract

A system for controlling environmental conditions including irrigation or misting in greenhouses having a plurality of crop beds within one greenhouse enclosure arranged into a plurality of sense zones and a plurality of control zones comprises a plurality of sensors stationed over crop beds within each sense zone comprising an aspirated enclosure and means therein for generating analog electrical signals indicative of web bulb and dry bulb temperatures and also means for generating an analog electrical signal indicative of incident light over the bed of a microcomputer. The microcomputer is programmed with a task for inputting digital data from the input section indicative of web bulb and dry bulb temperatures and for calculating the vapor pressure deficit over each bed and for inputting digital data from the input section indicative of light intensity; a task for measuring a parameter indicative of physiological crop age; a task for establishing a time interval between supply of water based upon the gathered data; and a task for initiating electromechanical action for supplying water to the crop bed.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.