Structural Design, Environmental Regulation, and Cultivation Management in Greenhouse Horticulture

As an integral component of modern agriculture, greenhouse horticulture provides controlled environments that optimize plant growth, enhance productivity, and enable year-round production. This Special Issue, entitled “Cultivation and Production of Greenhouse Horticulture” features a collection of original studies and review articles outlining recent advancements and innovations in greenhouse cultivation. Five primary themes are covered in this collection: (1) evaluating and optimizing the design and performance of greenhouse structures; (2) the modeling, simulation, prediction, and control of internal environmental factors using mathematical, physical, or machine learning approaches; (3) physiological crop responses and subsequent product performance under varying environmental conditions or cultivation practices; (4) the integration of novel energy systems within greenhouses; and (5) pest management strategies in greenhouse environments.

Research on greenhouse structures has primarily focused on investigating components such as walls, roofs, corridors, and thermal blankets to identify strategies for improving greenhouse performance. Zhang et al. (contribution 1) employed a computational fluid dynamics (CFD) approach to examine the effects of ridge number and building orientation on summer ventilation and cooling in zigzag plastic greenhouses. Liu et al. (contribution 2) evaluated the comprehensive benefits of soft-shell solar greenhouses for tomato production in winter, significantly increasing indoor temperature and light levels while reducing humidity fluctuations. Chen et al. [1] further calculated the efficiency of six greenhouse types for collecting solar radiation under different azimuths and latitudes in order to optimize their form and structural configuration. Liu et al. [2] optimized CSG roof curvature by adjusting shoulder height to enhance light admission. Collectively, these studies consistently demonstrate that the geometric configuration of a greenhouse fundamentally governs its efficiency during holistic solar energy interception. He et al. (contribution 3) investigated mechanized corridors in solar greenhouse clusters and determined the optimal ventilation mode, which combined upper and lower air inlets and was characterized by a lower inlet opening of 70% and an air velocity of 2 m/s. Qi et al. [3] investigated the synergistic effects of ventilation, cooling and wind-resistant performance in multi-span greenhouses with different roof configurations, and determined the optimal roof form that would maintain high ventilation efficiency while reducing the wind pressure coefficient to 1.60 under the most unfavorable wind direction. Lyu et al. [4] employed CFD analysis to identify the optimal matching relationships between side vent opening, air velocity, and crop height in a three-span arched greenhouse, confirming the dominant role of the side vent in ventilation and cooling. Liu et al. [5] proposed a dual-factor thermal blanket control strategy based on solar radiation and the indoor–outdoor temperature difference, which increased winter indoor temperature by 0.53 °C and achieved energy savings of 7.2% compared with conventional time-based control. Collectively, these studies provide important theoretical support and practical guidance for the structural design and intelligent environmental regulation of solar greenhouses. Lei et al. [6] proposed a passive ventilation system combining solar chimneys with ground-to-air heat exchangers, which significantly improved the indoor thermal environment.

Focusing on intelligent environmental regulation, Wang et al. [7] proposed an adaptive nonlinear control strategy incorporating a radial basis function (RBF) neural network to address the nonlinear and multi-disturbance characteristics of Chinese solar greenhouses, achieving significantly better performance than conventional proportional–integral–derivative (PID) control. He et al. [8] developed a solar radiation model for Chinese solar greenhouses that comprehensively considered geographical and structural factors, covering material, and weather conditions, enabling accurate simulations. Liu et al. (contribution 4) compared 2D and 3D CFD simulations to reveal the influence of adjacent structures on ventilation rates in greenhouse clusters, and trained a regression tree ventilation model using 990 samples to capture the coupled effects of wind pressure and thermal buoyancy. Qi et al. [9] numerically investigated the effects of wind speed and direction on the flow field within a greenhouse. The results show that under combined buoyancy and wind effects, effective ventilation efficiency significantly increased by 7.52% as wind speed rose from 0.5 to 1 m/s. Dong et al. [10] established a simple 24 h air temperature prediction model based on Bézier curves and external weather data, providing a tool for missing data imputation and future temperature forecasting. Kim et al. [11] measured nocturnal heat flux to determine the heat transfer coefficients of various enclosures in a single-span plastic greenhouse, identifying the roof as the primary location of heat loss. Liu et al. [12] developed a fast and practical one-dimensional transient temperature and humidity model that reduces dependence on measured boundary conditions through an innovative wall temperature estimation method, enabling future climate prediction using only weather forecasts.

With regard to greenhouse cultivation management, Jankauskienė et al. (contribution 5) investigated the effects of mixed peat–zeolite substrates on sweet pepper seedling cultivation, finding that ratios of 1:1 and 2:1 significantly promoted seedling growth, enhanced photosynthetic parameters, and ultimately increased yield. Amanda et al. [13] compared three irrigation–fertilization strategies. RWF improved growth, reduced fertilizer use by 26% without quality loss, and enhanced resource efficiency in greenhouse ornamentals. Zhang et al. [14] studied the effects of different organic mulches on the soil temperature, moisture, yield, and quality of tomatoes in an unheated greenhouse, revealing that organic mulches generally improved the soil environment. However, different materials exhibited varying strengths and weaknesses in terms of water retention, yield increase, and quality effects. Liu et al. (contribution 6) evaluated the photosynthetic characteristics of tomatoes and their responses to microclimate in a sunken solar greenhouse, revealing positive correlations between transpiration rate, photosynthetic rate, solar radiation, and vapor pressure deficit. Xu et al. [15] used terrestrial LiDAR to study cucumber canopy structures in a Chinese solar greenhouse and built a 3D model to simulate light environments, accurately capturing canopy heterogeneity. The virtual canopy underestimated light interception by 21.4% and photosynthetic rate by 14.8%. Ubaque et al. (contribution 7) presented a systematic review analyzing the current status of sustainable pest management in greenhouses across countries in the Global South, finding that biological control is the dominant strategy, and emphasizing the importance of synergistic multi-strategy applications.

In summary, this Special Issue highlights advances in the structural optimization and environmental control of solar greenhouses, as well as in crop cultivation management within them. These findings also contribute to the optimization of various solar greenhouse systems, thereby better serving cultivation practices. A deeper understanding of diverse cultivation strategies and pest management approaches will help improve crop quality and enhance economic returns. The contributions of all authors to this Special Issue collection are highly appreciated.