ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Hortic.
Sec. Controlled Environment Horticulture
Volume 4 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fhort.2025.1624013
The Effect of Agrivoltaic System on Nutrient Content, Yield, and Water Productivity of Potatoes
Provisionally accepted
- 1Al-Qasim Green University, Babylon, Iraq
- 2Department of Biological and Ecological Engineering, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon, United States
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Integrating innovative technologies such as agrivoltaic systems, enhancing water use efficiency, and adopting climate-smart agricultural practices can ensure that agricultural systems are resilient, resource-efficient, and capable of feeding future generations. This study aims to examine the growth of potato plants both beneath and between simulated solar panels, as well as in a control area. The effects of two levels of deficit irrigation (35% and 50%) and three levels of potassium sulfate fertilizer are investigated. Total production, water productivity, and nutrient analysis of the plants, potatoes, and soil are conducted. The results indicate that light conditions are the most significant factor (more so than irrigation or fertilizer) for most observations. Total yield was higher in the partially shaded zones between the simulated solar panels (denoted as B) compared to other areas. The results show that partial shading can significantly improve water productivity, particularly under moderate water stress (35% deficit irrigation). The increased water productivity in the areas between the simulated panels suggests that the shading, combined with efficient irrigation, helps conserve waterWe changed the title depending on the reviewers' commentsWe revised this section for improved clarity based on the reviewer's comments. and reduce water loss through evaporation. This leads to more efficient water use without drastically reducing yield.Shade conditions, particularly full shade, combined with a 35% irrigation deficit, might promote better nitrogen uptake and enhance protein concentration in potato plants.Shade, whether full shade (S) or partial shade (B), also led to increased potassium concentration in potatoes compared to full sunlight (L). A significant interaction was found between shade (S), irrigation (I), and potassium fertilizer (K), and the combined influence of these three factors can lead to significantly altered soil nitrogen levels. The combination of full shade, 35% irrigation deficit, and low potassium significantly enhances available phosphorus and reduces potassium concentrations in the soil. The finding that agrivoltaic systems can support better soil nutrient dynamics through shade and deficit irrigation is a promising area for future study of sustainable farming practices.
Keywords: Potassium sulfate, Agrivoltaic system, Crop Production, Deficit irrigation (DI), water prodactivity
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 16 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Witwit, Al-agele and Higgins. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Hadi Al-agele, Al-Qasim Green University, Babylon, Iraq
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