Structular characteristics of greenhouses in Azerbaijan Şemkir region and development possibilities

Significant increases have been observed in the areas of protected cultivation in Azerbaijan between 2001-2016.The total area of protected cultivation in Azerbaijan was increased from 7,610 da in 2001 to 21,650 da in 2016.In Azerbaijan, the majority of protected cultivation structures consists of greenhouses.In these greenhouses, vegetables are produced, usually .While the amount of vegetables produced in 2001 was 20,154 tons, it increased to 94,583 tons in 2016. A 33,8% (7,310 da) of the total greenhouse areas of Azerbaijan are located on the Shamkir region. The production from greenhouses in the Shamkir region constitutes 21% of the total greenhouse production in Azerbaijan (19,590 tons). In this study, it is aimed to determine the current situation and structural problems of plastic covered greenhouses in the Shamkir region and to give some recommendations to solve these problems.Information on sizes, types and covering materials of greenhouses in the study area were obtained from statistical data.The research was carried out through questionnaire and on site observations in April 2018 in greenhouse enterprises in Shamkir region, where greenhouse cultivation was performed intensively. In order to represent the region, surveys were conducted in 21 greenhouses in 4 different villages in the Shamkir region.With the survey study, information about plant production in greenhouses, structural features of greenhouses, planning criteria, sufficiency of greenhouse indoor environmental conditions and problems of greenhouse operations related to research subject were obtained. According to the results, it was observed that ventilation, heating and cooling systems which play an important role in the control of environmental conditions in production greenhouses are insufficient.Therefore, it is concluded that greenhouses in the Shamkir region should be improved for successfull and sustainable production. Keywords: Azerbaijan, Shamkir, Greenhouse, Structural Characteristics of Greenhouses, Productivity. 2019, viii + 67 pages.