Melon fruits exhibit a wide range of morphological variations in fruit shape, sugar content, net quality, diameter and weight, which are largely dependent on the variety. These characteristics significantly affect marketability. For netted varieties, the uniformity and pattern of the net serve as key factors in determining the external quality of the melon and act as indicators of its internal quality. In this study, we evaluated the effect of fruit morphology and growth on netting by analyzing the changes in melon fruit quality under LED light treatment and monitoring fruit growth. Computer vision analysis was used for quantitative evaluation of fruit net quality, and a three-variable logistic model was applied to simulate fruit growth. The results showed that melons grown under LED conditions exhibited more uniform fruit shape and improvements in both net quality and sugar content compared to the control group. The results of the logistic model showed minimal error values and consistent curve slopes across treatments, confirming its ability to accurately predict fruit growth patterns under varying light conditions. This study provides an understanding of the effects of fruit shape and growth on net quality.
High-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps have been widely used as a useful supplemental light source to emit sufficient photosynthetically active radiation and provide a radiant heat, which contribute the heat requirement in greenhouses. The objective of this study to analyze the thermal characteristics of HPS lamp and thermal behavior in supplemented greenhouse, and evaluate the performance of a horizontal leaf temperature of sweet pepper plants using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation. We simulated horizontal leaf temperature on upper canopy according to three growth stage scenarios, which represented 1.0, 1.6, and 2.2 plant height, respectively. We also measured vertical leaf and air temperature accompanied by heat generation of HPS lamps. There was large leaf to air temperature differential due to non-uniformity in temperature. In our numerical calculation, thermal energy of HPS lamps contributed of 50.1% the total heat requirement on Dec. 2022. The CFD model was validated by comparing measured and simulated data at the same operating condition. Mean absolute error and root mean square error were below 0.5, which means the CFD simulation values were highly accurate. Our result about vertical leaf and air temperature can be used in decision making for efficient thermal energy management and crop growth.