The difference between traditional greenhouses and smart greenhouses.

In the field of agricultural production, the emergence of greenhouses has significantly altered the growing environment for crops, enabling the achievement of goals such as off-season planting and increased yield. The evolution from traditional greenhouses to smart greenhouses reflects the deep integration and application of technology in agriculture, with notable differences between the two in several aspects.

Traditional greenhouses have relatively simple structures, often constructed with plastic film, earthen walls, and bamboo or wood, making them low-cost and easy to build, and they are commonly found in rural areas. However, environmental control primarily relies on the grower's experience, with manual adjustments such as opening thermal blankets or ventilators to regulate temperature and humidity, resulting in low efficiency and difficulty in precise management. Irrigation and fertilization are based on manual judgment, and extensive practices often lead to resource waste. Pest and disease control heavily depends on pesticides and fertilizers, leading to prominent issues of environmental pollution and pesticide residues. Additionally, the low level of automation means tasks such as seedling cultivation, pollination, temperature control, and harvesting require significant human and material resources, resulting in low production efficiency.

Smart greenhouses represent an advanced form of facility agriculture. Built on the foundation of multi-span glass greenhouses, they integrate technologies such as sensors, IoT management systems, integrated water and fertilizer systems, soilless cultivation, and biological control. Utilizing advanced technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT), big data, and artificial intelligence, they enable real-time and precise monitoring of environmental parameters such as temperature, humidity, light, and CO₂ concentration inside the greenhouse. Through intelligent control systems, they automatically adjust the opening and closing of shade nets, ventilation for cooling, irrigation and fertilization, and heating or cooling equipment, achieving refined and intelligent environmental management. Smart irrigation systems provide precise water supply based on crop needs, while intelligent algorithms optimize energy usage, significantly improving resource utilization efficiency. For pest and disease control, they combine biological and physical methods with intelligent early warning systems, reducing the use of chemical pesticides and ensuring the safety of agricultural products. Moreover, their high level of automation and intelligence greatly reduces labor input and lowers labor intensity.

Overall, while traditional greenhouses are low-cost, they have significant shortcomings in environmental control, resource utilization, pest and disease management, and production efficiency. Smart greenhouses, with their precise environmental control and scientific planting management, enable high and stable crop yields, producing higher-quality agricultural products that better meet market demands. This brings greater economic benefits to growers and also promotes the development of agriculture towards modernization and intelligence.