β Scribed by Jan Van De Vooren
No coin nor oath required. For personal study only.
The writing of a comprehensive book on protected cultivation is a commendable enterprise. Even items like fire prevention are not omitted. This book deals with the practice of the greenhouse industry in America and is a text upon which all involved in that industry may build in the future.
The Introduction states the importance of the industry and the problems in starting a greenhouse business.
Several chapters describe the individual growth factors: light, temperature, water, soils, nutrition, carbon dioxide, and chemical growth regulators. Each chapter starts with the physical and physiological aspects of the factor concerned in relation to crop growth, and concludes with the technical aspects, like control and instrumentation of this factor in the greenhouse. It is clear that equipment is quickly out of date because of rapid technical advances, as the authors themselves state in the Preface. A clear example is the increased use of microcomputers for climate control, datalogging and alarm purposes since 1975 in the Netherlands.
In Chapter 5, attention is given to the specific problems of insect and disease control in the greenhouse. Unlike cultivation in the open, there are several ways of controlling climate in such a way that diseases are prevented. It is a pity that this subject is not dealt with more thoroughly. A literature review could have provided a basis for further study. The "crop protection chemicals" list has limited and temporary value, due to environmental and local laws and developments in the chemical industry.
The chapter "Greenhouse Construction" gives extensive information on the greenhouse: mechanization, covering and structural materials, maintenance, design of the structure, and influence of the structure on climate factors such as light, temperature and humidity.
The chapter "Business Management" gives a good starting point for managers who wish to control businesses by the use of administrative computers.
A chapter on marketing completes this systematical and practical book, which gives an extensive review of American literature. However, it neglects to a great extent research and practice from countries like Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The appendix with definitions helps to make the book understandable to a wide readership.
In conclusion, the hope is expressed that, as the authors indicate, the "hodge-podge" of units will end, and that the United States will adopt the metric system. Then, "Unity in Units" will be a rule and the use of pocket calculators and conversion tables during reading will be diminished to an absolute minium.
JAN VAN DE VOOREN (Naaldwijk)
π SIMILAR VOLUMES