One of the primary deterrents to the intensification of agriculture has long been its requirement of insolation. Land put to agricultural use could not be simultaneously devoted to any kind of vertical development, given the dependence of photosynthesis – the Earth’s most abundant chemical reaction, upon sunlight.
Another sector faces the same problem – Solar Energy. Devotion of land area is a major concern. Although unlike plants, solar panels constantly evolve to become more efficient, the progress rate does not seem fast enough to realise sea-change within our generation’s lifetime. Provision of an unobstructed surface to intercept the sunlight is the primary consideration.
However, combining the two is not a bad idea, as recent research has shown. Aeroponics, the vertical stacking of small plants on racks equipped with root drip sprayers, to save water and land use, is already exploiting the ability of several plant species, particularly vegetables to thrive under shade or indirect and spare illumination. Initially, the cool shade provided by Solar Panels was deemed to be appropriate only for fungiculture. Shade is conducive to various kinds of plants, and studies are still ongoing. It’s a precarious territory and some varieties don’t even struggle to cope with shade, it is conducive to them, eliciting higher CO2 uptake.
A research study led by the University of Arizona’s Greg Barron-Gafford, published in Nature sustainability in September 2019, found out that shading by Photovoltaic panels provides multiple additive and synergistic benefits. These included, amongst others, greater food production, a reduction in the plant drought stress, and a drop in the solar panel heat stress. The entire research exercise involved rigorous monitoring of various internal and ambient parameters – microclimatic conditions, panel temperature, water uptake, soil moisture, plant ecophysiological function, and phytobiomass production. The researchers foresee a steep rise in its already immense utility in the near future, in light of predicted climate phenomena as persistent warming, acute heat waves, and precarious droughts.
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