Machine Learning-Powered Forecasting of Climate Conditions in Smart Greenhouse Containing Netted Melons

Abstract

The greenhouse environment plays a crucial role in providing favorable conditions for crop growth, significantly improving their quality and yield. Accurate prediction of greenhouse environmental factors is essential for their effective control. Although artificial intelligence technologies for predicting greenhouse environments have been researched recently, there are limitations in applying these to general greenhouse environments due to computing resources or issues with interpretability. Moreover, research on environmental prediction models specifically for melon greenhouses is also lacking. In this study, machine learning models based on MLR (Multiple Linear Regression), SVM (Support Vector Machine), ANN (Artificial Neural Network), and XGBoost were developed to predict the internal temperature, relative humidity, and CO2 conditions of melon greenhouses 30 min in advance. The XGBoost model demonstrated high accuracy and stability, with an R2 value of up to 0.9929 and an RPD (Residual Predictive Deviation) of 11.8464. Furthermore, the analysis of the XGBoost model’s feature importance and decision trees revealed that the model learned the complex relationships and impacts among greenhouse environmental factors. In conclusion, this study successfully developed a predictive model for a greenhouse environment for melon cultivation. The model developed in this study can facilitate an understanding and efficient management of the greenhouse environment, contributing to improvements in crop yield and quality. © 2024 by the authors.