This study explores the concept of agrivoltaics, which combines agricultural practices with photovoltaic (PV) systems, with the goal of increasing economic value for farmers while mitigating land use competition. The study specifically focuses on assessing the crop performance and microclimate impacts of ginger and kale under PV arrays. An experiment was conducted at the Ecohouse on the campus of Ohio University, where a solar array was previously installed, to examine the influence of solar panels on the growth and development of ginger and kale crops. Relationships were resolved between crop growth and various environmental factors, including light availability, soil moisture, humidity, precipitation, temperature, and soil nitrogen and soil carbon content. The findings revealed that while the solar panel treatment led to lower light availability, it did not significantly affect photosynthetic rates or yield in kale plants. The shading from the solar panels positively impacted soil moisture, providing a more favorable growing environment for both ginger and kale. Temperature variations were minimal under the solar panels, indicating that agrivoltaic systems can be implemented without adverse effects on temperature conditions. The results also indicated that shading affected the growth and morphological features of ginger and kale, including leaf numbers, plant height, and the number of senesced and healthy leaves. Shading generally resulted in a reduction in leaf numbers, plant height, and root mass in ginger, while kale showed 4 contrasting effects depending on the specific row. However, shading consistently led to a decrease in senesced leaves and an increase in healthy leaves for both crops. These findings suggest that, for some crop species, shading by solar panels can create a favorable microclimate, mitigating the negative impacts of excessive sunlight and promoting crop health.
This site uses cookies to store and share user preferences with other OpenEI sites, and uses Google Analytics to collect anonymous user information such as which pages are visited, for how often, and what searches or other webpages may have led users here. You can prevent Google Analytics from recognizing you on return visits to this site by disabling cookies on your browser or by installing a Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. By clicking "Accept" you agree this site can store cookies on your device and disclose information to OpenEI and Google Analytics in accordance with our privacy policy.
