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Background Transplanting vegetable seedlings to final spacing in the greenhouse is common practice. At the time of transplanting, the transpiring leaf area is a small fraction of the ground area and its cooling effect is rather limited. A preliminary modeling study suggested that if water supply from root to canopy is not limiting, a sparse crop could maintain about the same canopy temperature as a mature crop, at the expense of a considerably higher transpiration flux per leaf (and root) area. The objectives of this project were (1) to test the predictions of the model, (2) to select suitable cooling methods, and (3) to compare the drought resistance of differently prepared seedlings. Procedure Plants were grown in several configurations in high heat load environments, which were moderated by various environmental control methods. The difference between the three experimental locations was mainly in terms of scale, age of plants, and environmental control. Young potted plants were tested for a few days in small growth chambers at Technion and Newe Ya'ar. At NCSU, tomato plants of different ages and planting densities were compared over a whole growing season under conditions similar to commercial greenhouses. Results Effect of spacing: Densely spaced plants transpired less per plant and more per unit ground area than sparsely spaced plants. The canopy temperature of the densely spaced plants was lower. Air temperature was lower and humidity higher in the compartments with the densely spaced plants. The difference between species is mainly in the canopy-to-air Bowen ratio, which is positive for pepper and negative for tomato. Effect of cooling methods: Ventilation and evaporative pad cooling were found to be effective and synergitic. Air mixing turned out to be very ineffective, indicating that the canopy-to-air transfer coefficient is not the limiting factor in the ventilation process. Shading and misting, both affecting the leaf temperature directly, proved to be very effective canopy cooling methods. However, in view of their side effects, they should only be considered as emergency measures. On-line measures of stress: Chlorophyll fluorescence was shown to accurately predict photosynthesis. This is potentially useful as a rapid, non-contact way of assessing canopy heat stress. Normalized canopy temperature and transpiration rate were shown to correlate with water stress. Drought resistance of seedlings: Comparison between normal seedlings and partially defoliated ones, all subjected to prolonged drought, indicated that removing about half of the lowermost leaves prior to transplanting, may facilitate adjustment to the more stressful conditions in the greenhouse. Implications The results of this experimental study may lead to: (1) An improved model for a sparse canopy in a greenhouse. (2) A better ventilation design procedure utilizing improved estimates of the evaporation coefficient for different species and plant configurations. (3) A test for the stress resistance of transplants.