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Plants love sun, why would I put them below a panel into shade. Article mentions blueberries which I grow and those which get the sunshine only half of the day

Plants love sun, why would I put them below a panel into shade. Article mentions blueberries which I grow and those which get the sunshine only half of the day (partly in shade) don't have the same sweet taste as other in better sunny spots of my garden.

olddustytrail 3y ago
> Plants love sun No. Some plants love direct sunshine and others don't.
- cellularmitosis 3y ago
  Unfortunately the article just hand-waves on this point, leaving it at "certain crops": > However, certain crops are better suited for this system due to their ability to thrive under partial shade.
voisin 3y ago
You can get bifacial panels that let light filter through. Not sure what is filtered, but perhaps the remainder is sufficient for certain crops?
- Mistletoe 3y ago
  Here is a chart of DLI (daily light integral) needed for lots of common crops. https://www.horti-growlight.com/en-gb/typical-ppfd-dli-values-per-crop https://www.horti-growlight.com/en-gb/typical-ppfd-dli-value... Here is a map of DLI in the USA by month. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Maps-of-monthly-outdoor-DLI-throughout-the-United-States-Source-Mapping-monthly_fig1_242551992 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Maps-of-monthly-outdoor-... So there is some wiggle room maybe. Looks like about 30 is good DLI and the USA gets 40-60 in the summer. My gut feeling though tells me that the best performance is panels that use all the light or plants that get full access to it.
r00fus 3y ago
Plants can also get too much Sun just like they can be overwatered. That’s where agrivoltaics and irrigation can help.
steve_adams_86 3y ago
This would vary so much by species of plant, cultivars within species, local climate, etc. I suspect in your case it wouldn’t make sense, but in some places it’s a common practice to shade crops with raised sheets of cloth for example. In those cases, assuming the shading is done fairly consistently (no need to put panels up and down frequently), using panels could be a great idea. Where I live I need all the sun I can get as well. I have to start tomatoes in mid February and get them into the soil in June, and make sure they’re either in my greenhouse where it’s warm or in the most exposed spots in my garden. If I shaded anything my yields would be garbage.
KaiserPro 3y ago
They do love sun, but they might not like intense heat. Take those blueberries, Mine hate being in certain parts of the patio because whilst they get full sun, they also get longer and more extreme levels of heat. I almost lost them the year before last. (this is with a decent irrigation system too)
Schroedingersat 3y ago
Your anecdote is definitely better than all of the science showing quality and yield improvements.

olddustytrail 3y ago

> Plants love sun No. Some plants love direct sunshine and others don't.

cellularmitosis 3y ago
Unfortunately the article just hand-waves on this point, leaving it at "certain crops": > However, certain crops are better suited for this system due to their ability to thrive under partial shade.

voisin 3y ago

You can get bifacial panels that let light filter through. Not sure what is filtered, but perhaps the remainder is sufficient for certain crops?

Mistletoe 3y ago
Here is a chart of DLI (daily light integral) needed for lots of common crops. https://www.horti-growlight.com/en-gb/typical-ppfd-dli-values-per-crop https://www.horti-growlight.com/en-gb/typical-ppfd-dli-value... Here is a map of DLI in the USA by month. https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Maps-of-monthly-outdoor-DLI-throughout-the-United-States-Source-Mapping-monthly_fig1_242551992 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Maps-of-monthly-outdoor-... So there is some wiggle room maybe. Looks like about 30 is good DLI and the USA gets 40-60 in the summer. My gut feeling though tells me that the best performance is panels that use all the light or plants that get full access to it.

r00fus 3y ago

Plants can also get too much Sun just like they can be overwatered. That’s where agrivoltaics and irrigation can help.

steve_adams_86 3y ago

This would vary so much by species of plant, cultivars within species, local climate, etc. I suspect in your case it wouldn’t make sense, but in some places it’s a common practice to shade crops with raised sheets of cloth for example. In those cases, assuming the shading is done fairly consistently (no need to put panels up and down frequently), using panels could be a great idea. Where I live I need all the sun I can get as well. I have to start tomatoes in mid February and get them into the soil in June, and make sure they’re either in my greenhouse where it’s warm or in the most exposed spots in my garden. If I shaded anything my yields would be garbage.

KaiserPro 3y ago

They do love sun, but they might not like intense heat. Take those blueberries, Mine hate being in certain parts of the patio because whilst they get full sun, they also get longer and more extreme levels of heat. I almost lost them the year before last. (this is with a decent irrigation system too)

Schroedingersat 3y ago

Your anecdote is definitely better than all of the science showing quality and yield improvements.