Greenhouse control computers are an essential part of modern greenhouse ope
ration. Climate, irrigation and nutrient supply must be controlled, in an e
conomical way, to produce the best crop conditions. Current research on CO2
enrichment and optimal growth strategies implies the use of powerful tools
, either based on hardware or software. This paper describes the design and
implementation of a distributed data acquisition and control system for co
mputerised agricultural management systems that is being developed at Unive
rsidade of Tras-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Vila Real. Different communicatio
ns platform concepts, such as Controller Area Network (CAN), Wireless Techn
ologies, Ethernet and Internet tools supported by Transfer Control Protocol
/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and e-mail tools supported by Simple Mail Trans
fer Protocol (SMTP) were used to achieve a network with a low-cost, flexibl
e, and functional characteristics. The system management and maintenance ta
sks are divided into two types of performance levels. At a lower supervisio
n level, a Local Controller placed in the greenhouses performs the monitori
ng/control and communications actions. The management decisions are perform
ed at the higher level. The techniques and tools, which provide to the user
a transparent, friendly and intuitive Graphical User Interface (GUI) will
be presented. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.