Impact of soil preparation method and shade zones between solar arrays on pasture establishment in agrivoltaics system

Abstract:

The current study is investigating the effect of shade and the relationship with the pasture establishment and yield in an agrivoltaics production system. The main objective of the experiment is to evaluate the impact of varying shade zones and soil preparation method on the establishment and production of pasture species sown as a diverse mixture between solar arrays in spring 2020. The pasture mixture consisted of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.), orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), perennial ryegrass (Lolilum perenne L.), white clover (Trifolium repens), chicory (Cichorium intybus) and plantain (Plantago lanceolate L.). The treatments were (i) tillage and plastic cover prior to sowing, (ii) plastic mat cover only, (iii) and herbicide application. The experiment was a completely randomized design with three replicates. The forages were harvested depending on the position of the zone of the shade (4 shade zones). The fully shaded, partially shaded and the open (non-shaded) to zone partition were harvested individually and then evaluated. Seedling germination was affected by the soil preparation (P<0.01) and shade zones (P<0.01). Overall, the highest number of seedlings (782 plants/m²) were recorded in areas where both tillage and plastic mat cover was applied, while only herbicide applied areas had the lowest number of established seedling numbers (457 plants/m²). The number of established seedlings (681 plants/m²) in mat covered areas only was similar to tillage and plastic mat cover applied areas but greater than the areas received herbicide application only. The established number of seedlings were greater (P<0.01) in partially shaded areas (981 plants m²) than the open (no shade) areas between the solar arrays (578 and 590 plants/ m²). The lowest established number of seedlings (406 plants/m²) were recorded in full shaded areas under the solar panels.