CFD modeling of microclimate in the leaf boundary layer, ecological niche of pests

This study aims to use Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) software to explore the distributed climate inside greenhouses and especially in the leaf boundary layer, natural habitat of plant pests. Knowing more precisely the climatic conditions prevailing at this level is a prerequisite to the control of the climate at this level in order to fight against plant pests. The tools used in this study combine fine measurements of microclimate and distributed climate modeling in the leaf boundary-layer by analytical and numerical approaches. The temperature and humidity patterns inside greenhouse were simulated using the commercial software solver Fluent which was customized for simulating the sensible and latent heat exchanges between air and the crop (assimilated to the solid matrix of a porous medium) within each mesh of the crop canopy. In addition, temperature and air humidity distributions in the boundary layer of the leaves were deduced from velocity profiles depending on analytical approaches. These results evidenced that the microclimate (air temperature and humidity) close to the lower leaf surface is quite different from the climate prevailing in the greenhouse air, particularly during daytime when crop transpiration is maximum.