Small-sized irradiation structures for intensive year-round cultivation of green vegetable crops

Full and healthy human nutrition is characterized by the presence of green vegetable crops in the diet, which are rich in vitamins and useful components for humans. The need for them is observed year-round and all-season. Therefore, green vegetable products must be grown not only using traditional industrial technologies, but also in small businesses and private households. The realization of technology is ubiquitous, year-round cultivation of leafy vegetable crops in an artificial environment is possible using small-sized forms of cultivation facilities – irradiation chambers and boxes, grow boxes, phytotrons, etc. In this case, the main technological operation is the necessary light mode for plants: with the spectrum necessary for plants development and growth, with the necessary intensity and mode of irradiation. The developed irradiation units (camera and box) allow growing green vegetables at any time of the year, in any territory allotted for this, in the quantity necessary for consumption, etc. These units allow automatically monitoring the parameters of the air environment and soil, and, if necessary, adjusting it to create a comfortable environment for plant development. Experimental studies and processing of the results allowed concluding that by varying the spectrum and intensity of light-emitting diodes in the developed structures of irradiation units depending on the growth phase of green vegetable crops, it is possible to obtain products of higher consumer and commercial quality, with the necessary biochemical composition and characteristics. (paper)