This work was conducted in the experimental area of the Department of Rural Engineering of "Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz", University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, São Paulo, Brazil. Two greenhouses were installed in the east-west direction, with 6.4 m of width, 17.5 m of length and 3.0 m high, with total area of 112 m²; covered by plastic of 150 micra thickness, treated against ultra violet rays. To characterize the space distribution of the air temperature inside the greenhouse atmosphere, thermo couples of (copper-constantan) were installed, forming a grid spaced 3.0 m horizontally, at the heights of 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, 3.0 and 4.0 m above the soil. The data were stored every 15 min by a system of data acquisition. The fog system constituted of two lines with 70 foggers, installed at 3.0 m height and operating at a pressure of 20 kPa. The fog system did not affect the vertical temperature gradient, maintaining the tendency of increase of the air temperature with the height in relation to the soil level. While the effect of fog system to decrease the air temperature was effective when the system was on. The representation of the air temperature distribution in space inside the greenhouse at different height levels was done by isotherm surfaces. It was verified that the fog system had the highest effect in the homogenization of the air temperature distribution inside the greenhouse at the height of 2.0 m from the soil.
isotherms; fog system; greenhouse; air temperature management; plasticulture; lateral opening of curtains
