Room temperature reductions in relation to growth traits of kudzu vine (Pueraria lobata): Experimental quantification

This study aimed to evaluate a technique to cool livestock buildings by covering it with kudzu vine (Pueraria lobata). Specifically, we first examined whether one-year-old nursery stocks of kudzu that were planted in spring can cover livestock buildings with standard size by summer in Japan. Then, we quantified the cooling effects of changes of kudzu vine covering on the room temperatures of fabricated livestock buildings under field conditions. Our results showed that the vines reached the roof of standard-sized livestock buildings by summer. The estimated average percentage coverages and the sorted room temperature reductions (RTRs) showed positively significant relationships under the global solar radiation on a horizontal surface greater than 0.2 kW m−2. The maximum sorted RTR was 3.44 °C, when the estimated average percentage coverage was 43.9%. Thus, we conclude that the technique to cool livestock buildings using one-year-old nursery stocks of kudzu vine is applicable to livestock buildings.