Crop Load in The Greenhouse

Crop load refers to the load exerted on the greenhouse structure by the weight of the crops hanging on the greenhouse structure. Since some climbing plants are often planted in greenhouses, flexible materials such as ropes or steel wires need to be used to hang them to the greenhouse roof or roof truss structure. There are also some seedling or flower production greenhouses that often hang potted flowers directly on the greenhouse structure. No matter what kind of hanging method is used, the dead weight of the plants will exert a load on the greenhouse structure.
1. The size of the crop load is related to the variety of crops being cultivated, the growth period of the crops, the hanging method, etc. Due to the different varieties of crops grown, the number and size of the fruits, the length of the plant vines, and the weight of the hanging plants are also different. Crops have no fruit in the early stages of growth, so they are relatively light. As the plants grow and fruits appear, the plant's lifting weight continues to increase, and generally reaches the maximum value during the peak growth period of the crop or before harvest. Therefore, the crop's lifting load is different from that of the crop. related to growth period
The crop lifting load is also related to the way the crops are hung. In some greenhouses, the hanging ropes are hung directly on the roof frame members. In some greenhouses, all the plants in a row are hung on a rope and then hung on the end wall of the greenhouse. surface or skeleton, resulting in different crop load acting positions and magnitudes. The lifting load of greenhouse crops is also related to the setting of the hanging points. The arrangement of the hanging points is different, the load borne by each hanging rope is different, and the combined load of the hanging points on the greenhouse is also different. Therefore, different hanging methods will affect the stress of the greenhouse structure. When designing the hanging method, structural safety factors should be considered to make the structural design more reasonable.