HortResearch Publication –

Humidity in Greenhouses

Elly Nederhoff - HortResearch, Palmerston North

Table of Contents

Humidity in Greenhouses

1. Terminology in Relation to Humidity

2. How to Use RH and Other Humidity Measures
3. High Humidity Control
4. High Humidity and Plant Diseases
5. The Best Way to Measure Humidity
6. Humidity and Plants
7. Coping With Low Air Humidity

In greenhouse climate control, nothing is so complicated as control of humidity. Greenhouse air

humidity is determined by various factors and controlling those is virtually impossible. A
greenhouse operator can only adjust air humidity and try to avoid extremes. Moreover, humidity
has various ‘faces’: relative humidity, vapour pressure, VPD, dew point, which all require different
control settings. Even when everything is understood it is not easy to decide which level of
humidity should be targeted in the control, as that depends on the weather and plant conditions.
In this series of articles we will discuss these aspects, as well as the relation of humidity with
transpiration, plant growth and disease development. The last articles will deal with venting,
heating, fogging, misting and roof sprinkling as means to adjust humidity. This first article
explains the terminology in relation to humidity. The next article will show how one unit can be
converted to another unit. The alphabetic list of terms below is meant to be used as a reference.
Absolute (air) humidity: humidity in gram water vapour per m3 air. Conversion to relative
humidity (RH) can only be made when the temperature is known. For instance 15 g/m3 at 17.5 oC
equals 100 % RH, while at 25 oC it equals 65 % RH, and at 30 oC it equals 50 % RH (see table in
next article of this series).
Boundary layer: thin layer of air and water vapour close to the leaf surface. The boundary layer
resistance is a barrier for transpiration. It is reduced by air movement (wind).
Condensation: transition of water vapour to liquid water. Water vapour condensates on glass or
leaves that are cold (below the dew point).
Conductance (opposite of resistance): ’ease’ with which water flows through a barrier. When
leaf pores are wide open, the resistance for water vapour to go out is low and the conductance is
high.
Conductivity, conductivity factor (CF): concentration of mineral salts in water (term used in
hydroponics).
Dew point: temperature below which water vapour will condensate (indication for humidity of
air). For instance air with 10 g/m3 has a dew point of 11 oC, air with 20 g/m3 has a dew point of
22.5 oC.
Evaporation: transfer of water vapour from a wet surface or from the soil to the air.
Evapotranspiration: transfer of water vapour from soil and plants to the air.
Guttation: water leaking from leaves, caused by high root pressure, mostly at night.
Osmosis, osmotic potential: pressure in water (or in plant sap) caused by salts. The more salts
in the plant sap, the higher the water pressure in that plant.
Resistance: strength of hindrance for water flowing through a barrier. For instance when leaf
pores are closed they are a strong resistance for transpiration.
Transpiration: transfer of water vapour from a plant to the air. Transpiration has two effects:
cooling the leaves during sun shine and internal transport of nutrients.
Relative (air) humidity (RH): humidity in % of maximum humidity at a given temperature. For
instance at 20 oC air can hold 17.3 g of water vapour per m3 at maximum. If it holds only 13 g/m3
at 20 oC, it has a relative humidity of 75 %.
Relative water content (RWC) of plants: water content in % of maximum water content.
Root pressure: strength with which the roots press water upwards to the shoots. This is the
mechanism that causes water uptake at night, while at day transpiration is the driving force.
Stoma / stomata: pore / pores in the leaf surface.
Stomatal conductance: ease with which water vapour can pass the leaf pores.
Stomatal resistance: strength of hindrance to water vapour by the leaf pores.
Saturation: saturated means filled to the maximum (with water).
Saturation deficit: a measure of air humidity: difference between actual and maximum vapour
content (e.g. in gram water per m3 air).
Specific humidity: water content of air in kg water vapour per kg dry air.
Turgor: pressure of plant cell walls to hold water.
Vapour deficit: can be vapour pressure deficit (VPD) or saturation deficit.
Vapour pressure: pressure caused by a gas or a vapour. It normally ranges from or 1 to 5 kPa
or from 10 to 50 mbar.
Vapour pressure deficit (VPD): difference between actual and maximum vapour pressure,
normally in the range 0.1 kPa (very humid) to 3 kPa (very dry air), or 10 to 30 mbar.
Water potential of a plant: water content expressed in units of energy or pressure.
Water uptake: the amount of water taken up by the plants. It equals the transpiration plus the
water used for plant growth.
Water stress (drought stress): shortage of water in the plant, leading to wilting etc.
Water status: condition of the plant in terms of water content.
Wet bulb temperature: temperature indicated by a thermometer covered with a wet wicking.
When the humidity is 100% or when the wicking is dry, the wet bulb temperature equals the dry
bulb temperature. Otherwise the wet bulb temperature is a few degrees below the dry bulb
temperature.

How to Use RH and Other Humidity Measures

Humidity in greenhouses can be controlled for various reasons. In colder seasons humidity control
aims at avoiding fungal infection, while in warmer seasons humidity is controlled to regulate the
transpiration. These two aspects require a different approach, for which often different units are
used. Most growers work with relative humidity expressed in %. Control computers may use other
units, such as absolute humidity in g/m3, or VPD expressed in kPa. This article explains the
meaning of these units, and how to convert from one unit to another.
Absolute and Relative humidity
A good indication of air humidity would be the absolute humidity in g/m3, but horticulturist
usually work with relative humidity (RH) in percents. RH of 100 % means extremely humid
conditions and for instance 50 % indicates very dry air conditions. RH is a handy measure and
growers are used to it, but RH is not always appropriate. The disadvantage is that RH does not
say anything about the amount of water in the air, unless the temperature is given.
Some examples may illustrate this, and it can be seen form the table. If we would use a steamer
to bring water vapour into the air, we would see that moisture is absorbed until the maximum
water content (or ‘saturation’) is reached. If the steaming continues we would see condensation
appear. Cold air can hold much less water than warm air, so cold air is easily saturated. Air of 10
oC can hold 9.4 gram of water vapour per m3 at maximum, air of 20 oC can hold 17.3 g/m3, and
air of 30 oC can hold 30.4 g/m3 at maximum. Relative humidity is the percentage of maximum
water content at a given temperature. If air of 20 oC holds 13 g/m3, the air has a relative
humidity of 75 % (as 13 is 75 % of the maximum amount which was 17.5). In contrast air of 30
oC with the same absolute humidity of 13 g/m3 has a relative humidity of only 43 %.
If air temperature goes down, while the absolute humidity (in g/m3) remains equal, the relative
humidity goes up. This continues until saturation is reached, and condensation occurs on glass
and leaves.
RH control
Spores of Botrytis and other fungal diseases are waiting for condensation on the leaves (‘wet
leaves’) to start growing, so growers would like to avoid wet leaves. Unfortunately there are no
handy ways to measure condensation, and instead RH can be used to indicate the risk of
condensation.
In theory, RH below 100 % means that there is no condensation. When the sensors via the
computer tell it is 20 oC and 95 % RH, it means it is 20 oC at the sensor, and absolute air
humidity is 16.5 g/m3 (see table). The absolute humidity is the same on all places in the
greenhouse, but the temperature can be a few degrees lower on many places in the greenhouse
and higher on other places. Therefore the relative humidity is different on different places. Since
cooler air can hold a lower amount of water, the relative humidity is higher and condensation may
occur on the cooler spots. So in reality, if RH of around 95 % is measured, there will be
condensation on many cooler spots, most likely also on leaves. Thus RH can be used as an
indication of the risk of condensation, and thus RH is useful in relation to control of fungal
infection. When very high RH is measured, let’s say above 90 or 95 %, the control should aim at
reducing the humidity.
Vapour Pressure Deficit (VPD)
VPD is the proper unit in relation to transpiration control, as it indicates the ‘drying effect’ of the
air. The meaning of VPD can be explained as follows: vapour pressure (VP) is the pressure caused
by a gas or a vapour. All gases in the air together make up the air pressure. Vapour pressure of
water normally ranges from 10 to 50 mbar (millibar) or in other units, from 1 to 5 kPa (kilo-
Pascal). At each temperature there is a maximum vapour pressure of water, and if more water
was added water would condense (as described for relative humidity).
Table for conversion of units
at 10 oC at 15 oC at 20 oC at 25 oC at 30 oC

RH abs. VPD abs. VPD abs. VPD abs. VPD abs. VPD
3 3 3 3 3
% g/m kPa g/m kPa g/m kPa g/m kPa g/m kPa

100 9.42 0 12.86 0 17.33 0 23.09 0 30.43 0

95 8.94 0.06 12.21 0.09 16.47 0.12 21.94 0.16 28.91 0.21

90 8.47 0.12 11.57 0.17 15.60 0.23 20.79 0.32 27.39 0.42

85 8.00 0.18 10.93 0.26 14.73 0.35 19.63 0.48 25.87 0.64

80 7.53 0.25 10.28 0.34 13.87 0.47 18.84 0.63 24.34 0.85

75 7.06 0.31 9.64 0.43 13.00 0.59 17.32 0.79 22.82 1.06

70 6.59 0.37 9.00 0.51 12.13 0.70 16.17 0.95 21.30 1.27

60 5.65 0.49 7.71 0.68 10.40 0.94 13.86 1.27 18.26 1.70

50 4.71 0.61 6.43 0.85 8.67 1.17 11.55 1.59 15.22 2.12

40 3.77 0.74 5.14 1.02 6.93 1.41 9.24 1.90 12.17 2.55

30 2.82 0.86 3.86 1.20 5.20 1.64 6.93 2.22 9.13 2.97

RH = relative humidity (%). abs. = absolute humidity (g/m3). VPD = Vapour Pressure Deficit (kPa).
1 kPa (kilo-Pascal) = 10 mbar (10 millibar), both are units for vapour pressure and for VPD.

Vapour pressure deficit (VPD) is the difference between the actual and the maximum vapour
pressure. For water vapour, VPD is normally in the range 0.1 kPa (very humid) to 3 kPa (very dry
air), or 1 to 30 mbar. Note that a low VPD means a high air humidity, and vice-versa. The higher
the VPD the stronger the drying effect, so the stronger the driving force on transpiration.
Conversion of units
Relative humidity (RH), absolute humidity (abs.) and Vapour Pressure Deficit (VPD) are important
units in horticulture. The table above shows the conversion from one unit into other units, at
various prevailing temperatures. For instance at 20ºC, 80% RH equals 13.87 g/m3 absolute
humidity, and 0.47 kPa VPD.
Table for conversion of units
High Humidity Control
Need for humidity control
In the autumn/winter season it is important to control the ‘high side’ of humidity. At high humidity
conditions the aim is to reduce the humidity and avoid condensation on cold spots. The reasons
are well known: 1) wetness permits the always present Botrytis spores to germinate and infect
the plants 2) high humidity prohibits transpiration, as humid air has not much ‘space’ for
absorbing more water vapour (the Vapour Deficit is low). High humidity, especially in combination
with lower light levels in winter are detrimental for plant transpiration. This may lead to
insufficient uptake and transport of nutrients and hence a lower plant quality and weaker plant.
Outside air humidity
Air humidity in a greenhouse depends very much on the humidity of the ambient air, and it is
therefore worthwhile to consider outside air humidity. High relative humidity (RH) of the ambient
air can occur both in the cold and the warm season. When there is fog on cold days, the RH is
very high, but at the same time the absolute humidity is very low, because cool air can hold only
a small amount of water vapour. On warm days the outside RH can be very high too, when warm
air has absorbed a lot of water vapour from the sea surface and has cooled down subsequently.
When RH is high at a high temperature, the absolute humidity is high too. Rain does not
necessarily cause a high air humidity: if the water droplets are very cold they act as condensation
surfaces and even reduce the absolute humidity. The effect of rain on RH depends on the air
temperature (at unchanged air temperature the RH drops in this case).
Greenhouse air humidity
The absolute humidity of the outside air is the starting point of the absolute humidity inside the
greenhouse. Transpiring plants increase the absolute humidity of the greenhouse air by adding
water vapour. Therefore, in a greenhouse with an active crop the absolute humidity is always
higher than outside. The air temperature is usually (although not always) higher inside the
greenhouse than outside. The relative humidity (RH) in the greenhouse can be higher or lower
than outside, depending on the temperature. Important is that greenhouse air has a higher
absolute humidity, so a higher water vapour content than the outside air.
Ventilation and air movement
Ventilation means exchange of air between inside and outside. Humid (and warm) air from the
greenhouse is replaced by dryer (and normally cooler) air from outside. Therefore, ventilation
means loss of water vapour (and heat). Ventilation can be used to deliberately dispose excessive
water vapour.
Ventilation also improves the air movement. This has another effect: it stimulates plant
transpiration. The air movement effect, combined with the water vapour removal effect, are very
effective methods of increasing transpiration on a dull day. Fans for air movement inside the
greenhouse can be useful too, as they increase transpiration a bit and avoid cold spots by mixing
the greenhouse air. However, air mixing fans do not remove excessive water vapour and are less
effective in increasing transpiration.
 Good ventilation improves the air movement and stimulates plant
transpiration
Heating
The effect of heating on humidity is more complicated than the
effect of venting. If an enclosure with a constant amount of water
vapour is heated, the absolute humidity does not change, but the
relative humidity drops (because warm air can contain more water
vapour). But a greenhouse with plants does not have a constant
amount of water vapour, as the plants add water to the air by
transpiration.
In a greenhouse with an active crop, heating does two things: 1)
increasing the air temperature and 2) stimulating the
transpiration. (1) Increasing temperature means that the air can
contain more water vapour, so the RH drops. (2) Enhanced
transpiration means that water is added to the greenhouse air, so
RH increases. The overall effect of heating on RH is not easy to predict. If the temperature would
be increased very fast, RH would first go down, and later go up when the transpiration increases.
With a slow heating system (e.g. a hot-water pipe heating system), control of humidity with the
heating system alone can cause difficulties.
Humidity control
Humidity can only be controlled properly with a good control computer, a well-calibrated humidity
sensor, and automatic ventilation and heating in place. The best way of high humidity control is
by ventilation. This has to be combined with heating to maintain the required temperature. When
a certain high level of humidity is measured, the ventilation must be triggered to start or to open
further. When subsequently a drop in temperature is measured, (extra) heat should be supplied.
Some growers use heating for humidity control: if a certain high level of humidity is measured,
the heaters are activated or the heat input is increased. This should be combined with (extra)
ventilation to remove excessive heat water vapour. Heating is a good method to dry the plants
early in the morning, when the temperature has to be increased anyway from the night to the day
level (see later article). However, heating for humidity control during the day may have
unpredictable results, because heating also increases the transpiration (see above).
So under high humidity conditions in winter, especially under low light conditions, a little bit of
ventilation combined with heating is recommended to reduce humidity and to keep the
transpiration going. Ventilating conflicts with CO2 enrichment, but on dull winter days it can be
the preferred way to go. It may prevent problems such as Botrytis infection and weak plants.
High Humidity and Plant Diseases
This time of the year air humidity can be high for a period of time, which promotes the
development of fungal diseases. Fungal spores, for instance of the feared Botrytis, are often
present in the greenhouse air. It is a matter of conditions if these spores lead to infection and to
an outbreak of the disease. This article describes what measures can be taken to reduce Botrytis
and some other diseases. It is based on work of plant pathologists in The Netherlands, New
Zealand and other countries.
Botrytis
Botrytis, or grey (gray) mould, can affect almost all greenhouse crops, including vegetables, cut
flowers and pot plants, in all above-ground plant parts: flowers, fruit, leaves, stems. The
symptoms are brown spots (lesions) and dying plant parts, with numerous sporophores growing
on the necrotic tissue. Once the main stem is infected the plant will decay. Sometimes symptoms
only appear after harvest. A serious outbreak dramatically reduces yields and may devastate the
crop.
The risk and the extent of infection depends on two things: firstly the number of spores present in
the greenhouse and secondly on the conditions. Generally, a small number of spores is present
‘everywhere’, and when the conditions are suitable some spores establish and multiply. Especially
injured plants or old leaves laying on the ground are the cradle for millions of Botrytis spores.
Spores are formed at very high relative humidity (RH), and a temperature of 15-25 oC is
favourable. However, Botrytis can also grow under lower or higher temperatures. The spores are
formed on old leaves and infected plant parts. Spores are released when this spore-bearing plant
material is disturbed or when the relative humidity (RH) changes rapidly, e.g. in the morning and
late afternoon. The spores are transported by air currents and may land on intact, susceptible
plants.
The role of humidity
The spores themselves contain very little water, and need to absorb water from the environment
for germination. This explains why the disease is associated with very high RH. Spores germinate
well in free water, especially if the water contains nutrients (sugars). Condensation on leaves is a
good condition for spore germination. A short dry period (of about 2 hours) does not harm the
germinating spores, and they continue germinating when the humidity gets very high again. In
longer periods of low RH (order of 60%) the spores will dry out and die.
It is not easy to say at what humidity the spores are formed, or at what humidity they germinate
and infect the plants. Humidity is often not measured at all in greenhouses, and if it is, the
measurements are usually very inaccurate. Moreover, RH may vary substantially over a rather
small distance in the greenhouse. When RH of 93% or more is measured, it is likely that RH is
100% on colder spots, and Botrytis infection is imminent. However, the humidity sensor is often
at least 5% wrong and humidity differences in the greenhouse are easily 5%. Therefore it is safe
to work with RH of 85% as the allowed maximum humidity level.
Stem Botrytis
Infection of the stems by Botrytis, e.g. in tomatoes, is different. The stems are infected in
wounds, for instance after deleafing. Fresh wounds supply enough moisture (plant sap) to the
spores to enable the start of germination. The further development of stem infection is favoured
by high RH though, partly because under high RH it takes more time for the wound to dry. A
special aspect of stem infection is that spores can be encapsulated inside in the stem and cause
symptoms later.
Controlling Botrytis
In general, Botrytis infection of leaves, flowers and fruit can be reduced by climate control. RH
should not be too high for a long period (hours). From the view point of Botrytis control it would
be ideal to control RH at 85 % maximum. To reduce the release of spores it would help to avoid
rapid changes in RH, if possible. Another very important and very effective measure is to keep the
canopy open, and so to enable air movement through the crop to dry the plants. Equally
important in the fight against Botrytis is removing old leaves on which spores can be formed and
removing infected plant parts as much as possible out of the greenhouse.
For tomatoes a practical recommendation by Michael Eden (HortResearch) is that infected (spore-
bearing!) plant material should be removed from the crop, the day before deleafing and lowering.
The reason is that work on the crop, like lowering the crop, disturbs and shakes the leaves and
causes infected leaves to release millions of Botrytis spores. If this shaking happens at the same
time as deleafing is done, many spores will land directly on the fresh deleafing wounds and start
new infections there. So better remove the infected plant parts a day before deleafing and
lowering, which will reduce the number of spores in the air and in the wounds.
Stem infection is not only depending on humidity and is sometimes very hard to control. It was
reported by Michael Eden and Robert Hill that Botrytis stem infection in tomatoes can be
controlled very effectively by biologicals (see article in Commercial Grower of March 1996).
Other diseases, powdery mildew
There is a wide range of plant diseases on various crops that thrive under high air humidity or wet
conditions. An outbreak or further spread of these diseases can often be controlled to some extent
by adequate climate control and cultural measures as described for Botrytis.
But in contrast to Botrytis and most other diseases, there are a few fungi that thrive under dry
conditions. Renown is powdery mildew, caused by different fungi in different crops. We often see
severe powdery mildew on cucumber plants in the middle of summer. The powdery mildew spores
contain much water (70%), so they do not need water for germination. For further growth they
obtain water from the leaves that they infect. Powdery mildew even establishes and grows at RH
as low as 30%. Water and high RH can be used to control powdery mildew: spores that have been
soaked in water for three hours are not very viable anymore, and one or two days high RH has
the same effect. But as said before: powdery mildew is an exception, and most fungi can be
controlled by creating dry conditions and an open canopy.
The Best Way to Measure Humidity
There are various types of humidity sensors available, two of which are commonly used in
greenhouses. Most reliable and most suitable for the rough greenhouse conditions is the wet and
dry bulb instrument. This article explains why it is worthwhile to go for this more expensive
humidity sensor, and how it should be used and maintained.
What to measure
Humidity can be expressed in various ways: as relative humidity (RH in %), absolute humidity (in
g/m3), moisture deficit or vapour deficit (also in g/m3), vapour pressure deficit (VPD in kPa or
Pa), and dewpoint (in oC), as described previously in this series. For sophisticated greenhouse
control we are interested in two aspects of humidity: RH and VPD. RH (or alternatively dewpoint)
is used for disease control, while VPD is the best indicator for transpiration control. In fact it does
not matter which form of humidity is measured, because it is easy to compute all the different
forms of humidity from one humidity measurement, provided also the temperature is measured.
So as long as humidity and temperature are measured very reliably and very accurately, it is not
important which type of humidity sensor is used.
Different sensors
At present two types of sensors with different measuring principles are commonly used in
greenhouses: number one is the dry and wet-bulb instrument or psychrometer, and second is the
electronic humidity sensor or capacitive sensor. Other principles, like the hair-hygrometer, have
been used in the greenhouse sector, whereas some new measuring principles are employed in
other areas and are being tested for suitability in greenhouses. We will only consider the two
current type of humidity meters.
Electronic (capacitive) sensor
Electronic sensors, mostly capacitive sensors, are usually relatively cheap, and easy to install and
maintain. They produce a signal that is converted in the computer to RH or another humidity
reading. They have a major disadvantage, that they easily become unreliable, in particular at high
humidity levels. They are usually good when new, but they quickly deteriorate under the rough
conditions in the greenhouse like changing humidity and spraying. In tests, most electronic
devices, even the more expensive ones, became inaccurate within 3 to 9 months after purchase.
If you choose to use an electronic sensor for humidity control, it should be calibrated every
month, particularly under wet conditions. Mind that calibration under wet conditions with another
electronic device is very dubious.
Dry and wet bulb instrument
A simple and yet ingenious method to determine air humidity is with an instrument that contains
two thermometers, also called bulbs: one measures the normal air temperature, the other is
continuously wet and measures the wet-bulb temperature. The schematic drawing below shows
the principle. (This is of an older type of Priva sensor, with thanks to Priva). In the drawing #1
and # 2 are the dry and wet-bulb thermometers, respectively. The wet-bulb (#2) is covered by a
wick (black in the drawing) that is hanging in a small reservoir with clean water (#8). The wick
sucks water and keeps the wet-bulb continuously wet. A built-in fan (#4) maintains a constant air
flow along the two bulbs. The air flow absorbs water from the wick, which cools the wet-bulb. The
dryer the air flow is, the more water will be absorbed from the wick, and the more the
temperature of the wet-bulb will drop. Under rather dry conditions, the wet-bulb is a few degrees
cooler than the dry-bulb. Under humid conditions, the dry and wet-bulb are almost the same.
Under 100 % RH in the greenhouse air, the dry and wet bulb should be exactly equal.
Figure of an air humidity meter based on dry & wet bulb
temperature

The two signals, the one from the dry-bulb thermometer and the
one from the wet-bulb thermometer are transferred to the
greenhouse control computer. Here the signals can be converted
to any form of air humidity, either relative air humidity, absolute
air humidity, vapour pressure deficit or dew point of the air.
Normally, however, only one form of humidity is displayed by the
computer, usually RH.

Maintenance
Disadvantages of this sensor are the higher price and the need for
frequent maintenance. First of all the bottle must be filled with
clean water when empty. This can be needed once in a few days
during dry weather, or once in a few weeks when it is humid. The
need for filling also depends on the size of the reservoir, of
course. The water must be absolutely clean, and the reservoir
itself must be cleaned when needed. When the wick is not clean,
either filthy by algae or fatty due to greasy fingers, it needs to be replaced carefully. Whenever
the wick fails to absorb water, the wet-bulb becomes a dry-bulb, and the temperature difference
between the two bulbs will be zero, thus the calculated RH will be 100%.
This is also the way to test this instrument: remove the wick, and make sure that both bulbs are
clean and dry. Then the RH reading must be close to 100%, which means that the dry and wet
bulb measure the same temperature. If that is not the case, you better ask your supplier for
service or replacement.
Place to measure humidity
As the dry and wet-bulb instrument is rather expensive, most growers will have only one
instrument, or hopefully one per compartment. If this reading is used for humidity control, it is
very important the sensor is placed at a good spot. In most greenhouses there is a huge
variability in temperature and humidity, both in vertical and horizontal directions. Make sure that
the measuring spot is characteristic for the whole greenhouse, and not too close to a heater,
heating pipe, fan, wall etc. Also the bulbs must be shielded from sun shine. You can choose to
hang it either at crop height, and also move it when the crop grows, or to have it always at the
same height. Good positioning, as well as good maintenance of the sensors, can make an
enormous difference in the costs and the effectiveness of the humidity control.
Humidity and Plants
Water is a vital element for plant life. Most plants parts consist for 85% to 98% of water. Water
provides components of plant compounds, fills plant cells, acts as a transport medium, provides
cell turgor and cools the plant. This article describes these various functions of water in plants and
the effects that air humidity may have on the plant’s water economy. A following article will
demonstrate in more detail the effects of humidity on growth and production of greenhouse
vegetable crops.
Transpiration
Leaves exposed to the sun would get overheated if they were not cooled by water evaporating
from the leaves, called transpiration. Transpiration is a passive process. It is the same thing that
happens to a layer of water on a concrete floor: when the sun shines the water evaporates. So it
is actually the sun’s energy and not the plant itself that drives the transpiration. It is important
that the water transpired from the leaves is replaced immediately by new water. This has to come
from the root-zone, into the roots, through the vessels into the leaves. This stream of water is
called the transpiration stream or the xylem. If the xylem is not able to supply enough water to
the shoot, the plants start wilting. But before the plant shows any visible sign of wilting, the plant
slightly closes its pores (stomata) in an attempt to protect itself from wilting. But this cannot save
the plant. Closure of pores reduces the transpiration and hence also reduces leaf cooling. With
insufficient water uptake the leaves will continue to loose water, get warmer, and ultimately get
‘cooked’.
Water as transport medium
Plants are built out of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and about 15 mineral elements (N, P,
K, S, K, Ca, Mg, Fe etc.). The mineral elements are taken up by the roots and carried upwards by
the transpiration stream (the xylem), that runs from the roots towards the shoot. Carbon is taken
up as carbon dioxide (CO2) by the leaves and transformed into sugars (carbohydrates or
assimilates). Again water is the vehicle for transport: the assimilates are carried by the ‘phloem’,
the water that moves from the leaves towards the growing organs. Water also delivers the amino
acids and plant hormones in the plant. So water facilitates all internal transport within the plant.
Water for growth
Plants grow because of photosynthesis, which is uptake of CO2 for the production of sugars
(carbohydrates or assimilates). These consist of carbon (C), hydrogen (H) and oxygen (O). Both H
and O are obtained from water, which is the first way how water contributes to growth.
Photosynthesis needs light and thus takes place at daytime.
The other contribution of water to plant
growth is by filling new plant cells. This
causes an increase in weight (growth)
mainly at night. Although much water is
taken up at day, it does not directly make
the plant grow, as the water uptake at
daytime is needed to compensate for the
water loss by transpiration. At night, in
contrast, the transpiration is very limited as
there is no sun shine. Then most of the
water taken up is available for growth,
which results in an increase in plant weight
mainly at night (figure 1).

Figure 1: Plant weight in relation to radiation

However, the fact that growth occurs at

night is not a reason to give much water at night. When not much water is needed for
transpiration, just a small amount of water (a few % of the uptake at day time) is sufficient to
cover the growth. This is usually available in the root-zone.
Water for turgor
Another function of water is providing firmness to the plant cells by putting an outward pressure
on the cell walls. This pressure and the firmness are called ‘turgor’. Turgid plant cells are pumped
full with water and cannot be compressed, like a balloon filled with water. Plant cells that have
lost a (small) part of their moisture, don’t have this turgor and are floppy. This is the case when
leaves suffer from ‘water stress’ (actually ‘drought stress’ would be a better name!).
In young cells, turgor stimulates the cells to expand and grow (older cells are not able to grow
anymore). If young cells do not experience sufficient turgor pressure, they don’t expand very
much. Therefore leaves that have water stress for a longer period of time, so leaves with little
turgor, usually stay smaller than leaves with normal turgor.
Air humidity and water economy
What does humidity have to do with water and transpiration? There are many linkages. As
described in an earlier article, plant transpiration increases the humidity of the greenhouse air. On
the other hand, air humidity affects the plant processes like transpiration, water uptake, nutrient
transport, cell turgor and growth. The linkages may be complex but they are very logical.
High humidity restricts the transpiration, because very humid air is almost saturated with water
vapour and cannot absorb much more. If very humid conditions and much sun shine were to
occur at the same time, the plants would get very hot due to low transpiration and lack of leaf
cooling.
Also, at times of reduced transpiration, the water uptake is low, and therefore transport of
nutrients from roots to shoots is restricted. If the high humidity conditions last for a longer period
of time (e.g. a week) then the plants may suffer deficiencies. Especially shortage of calcium is
very common in those conditions.
Very humid air is almost saturated with water vapour and cannot
absorb much more
It is obvious that low humidity stimulates the transpiration, which is
good. But at very low humidity the leaves loose so much water that the
xylem cannot completely replace the water losses, and thus plants can
not maintain turgor in the plant cells. Then the cell walls are not
pressed outwards, and the plant cells not stimulated to grow. Therefore
a low humidity for a long period of time generally results in shorter
plants and smaller leaf area.
These general rules do not always give the same results. For instance,
high humidity in cucumber may increase leaf area (through the turgor
effect) and therefore may increase growth and production. In contrast,
the same conditions in tomato may cause calcium deficiency in the
young leaves (due to reduced nutrient transport), which reduces leaf
area and hence reduces growth and production.

Coping With Low Air Humidity

On hot summer days the air humidity sometimes drops to very low levels. Some regions of New
Zealand suffer from almost dessert-like conditions where crops struggle to survive. It is generally
believed that a relative humidity of around 80-85% is ideal for plant growth (vapour pressure
deficit or VPD of 0.6-0.5 kPa at 25 oC), and that 65-60% is below optimal. A level of 50% RH in
combination with high temperatures can be called too low, as it means that the VPD is 1.6 kPa (at
25 oC). This article deals with how to cope with low air humidity in summer.
Risks of low humidity
Low air humidity increases crop transpiration, but too low air humidity in combination with high
radiation amplifies the transpiration more than the plants can handle. If the water loss by the
leaves exceeds the water uptake by the roots, the plants start wilting. Such water stress (or
actually drought stress) means that most processes, including growth, come to a temporary
stand-still. Water stress in combination with burning sun shine may cause permanent damage in
the form of leaf burn. If the dry conditions last for a longer period of time the crop will adjust by
forming smaller, thicker, sometimes brittle leaves, which gives the crop a very unhealthy
appearance. Its performance is probably still high thanks too the high radiation, but lower than it
would be when the leaves were vigorous. Hot dry conditions may cause special problems in some
crops, e.g. blossom-end rot in tomato and capsicum. Low air humidity also favours some pests,
e.g. spider mites lay more eggs and spider mite infection develops faster under low humidity
Some predator mites are not effective under low humidity For all these reasons we would like to
mitigate the conditions in summer.
Transpiration and ventilation
The first method to increase air humidity in the greenhouse is by supporting crop transpiration, as
the transpiration brings masses of water vapour into the air. Two things are important: sufficient
water supply and optimal water uptake. Ideally, the water supply capacity in a soil-less system
must be so high that even on the hottest days still some drain water comes out of the system.
The water uptake can peak to as high as 8 liter per m2 per day, which amount must be available
in the substrate or supplied when needed.
Secondly, the plants should be trained to be able to maintain a high rate of transpiration when
needed. Therefore, on occasional dull days the transpiration must be increased by extra
ventilation. On hot days some extra ventilation (and pipe heating) early in the morning can push
the transpiration, in order to have the plant active when the radiation rises fast. This may conflict
with CO2 enrichment. However, on hot dry days, the transpiration is of critical importance and
should get the highest priority.
White-wash
White-wash is often used for maintaining a better climate in the greenhouse. By keeping
excessive radiation out, it avoids boiling hot temperatures and thus prevents the VPD to become
too high [high VPD means low air humidity, and VPD depends on temperature]. There is a
counterbalancing effect: white-wash reduces the incoming radiation which reduces the rate of
transpiration. Generally this effect does not completely compensate the temperature effect, so the
VPD in a white-washed greenhouse is generally not as high as under clear glass. However, white-
wash 'permanently' reduces light also in hours when light is not in excess, which reduces growth
and production. White-wash should therefore be used sparsely and mainly on hot spots, like north
wall, main path, work places).
Shading should be used selectively as permanent shading with
heavy white-wash cuts production
Roof sprinklers
Sprinklers outside on the roof are meant for cooling, and not
directly for increasing the humidity. The principle is that water
sprinkled on the glass roof evaporates, which uses lots of
energy (heat) from the surrounding. This reduces the
temperature of glass and air. In a glasshouse with roof
windows and roof sprinklers, the incoming air is cool and
humid. The extent of the effect of roof sprinklers depends very
much on the air humidity of the outside air. On days with low
air humidity, the cooling effect can be many degrees, e.g. 6 oC
or more.
Fogging
Fogging is spraying very small droplets of water (5-10
micron), which float in the air and evaporate into water
vapour. This increases the relative air humidity (and reduces
the VPD) and also reduces the air temperature. The crop may
stay dry, unless the humidity is already high, or the fogging is
on too long, or the nozzles are too close to the crop. 'Misting'
has much bigger droplets than fogging, and misting always makes the crop wet, which reduces
photosynthesis and stimulates disease development. It is obvious that fogging is preferred and
also that fogging is more effective when the humidity is lower.
A fogging installation typically consist of a pressure pump, (copper) pipelines for high pressure
water (e.g. 1000 PSI), and special nozzles. There are also systems that use high pressure air and
low pressure water. One would install one nozzle on each 6-10 m2 (or more dense in small
greenhouses). The water usage is around 0.1 to 0.2 litre per minute per nozzle, but the nozzle
should only be on in intervals (e.g. 30 seconds on, several minutes off). The capacity of the
fogging installation should be around ... litre per hour for a 1000 m2 greenhouse.
A general problem of fogging is blocking of the nozzles. It is very important to have excellent
water quality and to filter the water. The pH of the water must be neutral. The nozzles need some
maintenance (cleaning) now and then.
The major drawback of fogging is its costs. This makes fogging merely economic for regions with
regular extremely dry periods, where other methods (see above) are insufficient. Fogging helps to
avoid blossom-end rot, but also for this problem are other (cheaper) remedies. Some growers use
the fog installation for spraying chemicals, thus saving on labour costs, which makes the fogging
installation more economic. Of course only chemicals that dissolve extremely well in water, or
liquid chemicals, can be sprayed through the fogger.
Fogging as back-stop
Fogging seems to be the ideal method to avoid low humidity, but it has some other disadvantages
too, apart from the price. A main concern is that fogging reduces the transpiration, so that the
effect of fogging is counteracted by the crop itself. Therefore, fogging can make the crop 'lazy' - if
a crop is grown under almost continuous fogging the root system is not capable of high water
uptake anymore. So fogging must be used wisely and selectively, actually it should be considered
as a back-stop. If other measures (like stimulating transpiration) are not sufficient, fogging can be
used during a few hot hours per day. In crops with a low leaf area, the transpiration is often
insufficient to maintain a reasonable humidity level and fogging may help. Crops struggling with
Pythium or other root problems can be fostered by fogging during the hot hours of the day.
Ideally the fogging is controlled via the computer, and activated on the basis of time and
measured conditions (e.g. air humidity, radiation, temperature, preferable also air humidity
outside).