Suitability of Protected Structures for Round the Year Vegetables Cultivation

The fully and partially controlled protected structures can be constructed for providing suitable microclimates for cultivation of vegetables. The fixed and operating cost of protected structures affects the profitability of cultivated vegetables. In this study protected structures i.e. shade net structure, insect proof net structure and polyhouse were constructed to study its suitability for round the year vegetables i.e. tomato and capsicum cultivation. Based on minimum and maximum temperature, it is found that shade net structure can be used only during summer season, insect proof net can be used during winter season and polyhouse can be used during winter and rainy season. Due to variation of open field micro climate round the year and different working principle of protected structures, not a single structure is found suitable for round the year cultivation of tomato and capsicum.