Journal of Information Engineering and Applications www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-5782 (print) ISSN 2225-0506 (online) Vol.5, No.8, 2015 84 Incorporating Rain Water Harvesting into the Green house Farming Olaifa, O.P. 1* , Abegunrin, T.P. 2 , Chukwudebe, E.P. 3 , Zaccheaus, O. S. 3 , Balogun, A.C. 1 Ande, S.A. 1 1, Department of Animal Production Technology, Federal College of Wildlife Management, P.M.B. 268, New Bussa, Nigeria. 2, Department of Agricultural Engineering, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAUTECH, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, Nigeria. 3, Department of Basic Science, Federal College of Wildlife Management, P.M.B. 268, New Bussa, Nigeria. Abstract A greenhouse is a structure where crops could be grown under controlled conditions. A greenhouse is needed in experimental determination of optimum conditions under which a crop(s) will perform the best. Rainwater may be used to water the crops inside a greenhouse. A 9m x 6m green house of roof slope 20 degree was constructed according to standard recommended by FAO/SIDA. The roof plan area was determined and quantity of harvestable water was calculated using standard formula. Gutter brackets were fabricated in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, LAUECH. Roof gutter size was determined using standard equation. The roof gutter was attached to the fascia board of the roof, using the gutter bracket at a slope of 1.5% and projection of 0.12m Water from the storage tank was diverted to inside the green house with the aid of pipe network and a tap. The results of rainfall analysis indicated that Ogbomoso has a mean annual rainfall of about 1.2m with a standard deviation of 0.27m and a coefficient of variation of 0.002m, which indicated that the rainfall is fairly well distributed. The rainfall pattern was found to be bimodal in nature, peaking in the month of June and October. The roof plan area was found to be 40m square. The theoretical harvestable water was found 36m square per annum. The required gutter diameter was determined to be 0.086m but a commercially available gutter diameter 0.1m was used. Rainwater from greenhouse roof, if well harvested and stored, may be used to water the plants inside the greenhouse. Adequate storage facility needs to be provided for harvested rainwater. Experimental crops of known crop water requirement should be grown in greenhouse with the harvested rainwater. INTRODUCTION Plants always respond to their environment and this often affects their production in terms of yield. For each crop, there is an optimum condition under which the production would be maximum. This optimum condition is not easily determined, thus there is the need to perform experiment on each crop aimed at obtaining information such as water requirement of the crop, temperature range for maximum production etc. this kind of experiment is better done in a greenhouse. A greenhouse is a building where plants are grown for different purposes under controlled condition. Such environmental conditions may include temperature, relative humidity, and soil moisture etc. water for use in the greenhouse may be sourced for through many means. However the available source may be demanding in terms of cost and energy input. OBJECTIVES The objectives of this research were To select an appropriate type of greenhouse suitable for the environment. To design and construct the selected greenhouse type. JUSTIFICATION Responses of different types of crops to different treatments, including soil types, fertilizer application, moisture availability, temperature, etc. are very important in determining the optimum conditions for production. These treatments cannot be carried out on ordinary field as the result would be affected by the environmental factors. A controlled growing environment is therefore needed and hence, the need for this work. SCOPE This work is limited to the design and construction of an appropriate greenhouse of size 9m by 6m in the Department of Agricultural Engineering, LAUTECH, Ogbomosho.