A new approach to cooling greenhouse irrigation water

Added on 27 March 2023

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A new approach to cooling greenhouse irrigation water

A research project at a southwestern Ontario, Canada, greenhouse has found a sustainable method to cool the water that growers use to irrigate their greenhouse crops, improving both plant health and quality in the process.

Using funding from the Greenhouse Competitiveness and Innovation Initiative (GCII), Under Sun Acres Inc. has identified that water from a greenhouse’s stormwater management pond can be used to bring irrigation water to the ideal temperature the crops need, as opposed to using an electric or gas-powered cooling unit.

Irrigation water used for greenhouse crops is a combination of fresh water from natural sources such as wells and ponds, municipal sources, leach water that is disinfected and recirculated from within the greenhouse environment, and fertilizer. The ideal temperature for irrigation water is approximately 68 to 72°F throughout the growing season.

“Growers mix fresh water from the municipality with treated leach water to use for irrigation, but when it is warm in the greenhouse in the summer, the treated leach water is the same temperature,” Lucas Semple of Under Sun Acres Inc. “As you lower the temperature of the irrigation water, it increases the health of the plant by reducing plant stress.”