Utilizing fan cooling to reduce leaf temperatures in Ginseng cultivation

Due to climate change, there have been more frequent heat waves and a notable rise in global temperature. This change hinders ginseng’s cultivation, a crop that grows well in cooler and shaded environments. This study evaluated the effectiveness of air-circulation fans in alleviating heat stress and lowering the leaf temperatures when cultivating ginseng. The experiment defined two groups of environments i.e., control and an experimental group. The experimental environment monitored the impact of fan activation, which occurred when the temperature exceeded 30°C. The control, however, does not consist of fans. We monitored three sets of data: ambient, leaf temperatures, and humidity levels, using a custom data acquisition system. The experimental results indicated that the leaf temperature decreased more markedly than the relative temperature decline, attributed to a minor increase in relative humidity induced by the flow fan. The experiment results presented a more significant decrease in leaf temperature with an average of 0.65 °C among the experimental group compared to the control group due to an increase in relative humidity. Through the Mann-Whitney U test, we confirmed a meaningful difference in the temperature and humidity distribution between the experimental and control groups when fans were activated. Such results indicate that air-circulation fans can be an effective temperature mitigation instrument for relieving heat stress in farming ginseng. The research enhances ginseng farming conditions by mitigating the risk of rising temperatures and further contributes to sustainable agriculture.