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Cumulative Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) Predicts Wheat Productivity Beneath a Tracking Agrivoltaic System
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DOI：10.3390/agronomy16161530.png)
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Abstract
En 中文
Agrivoltaic (APV) systems enable the simultaneous production of food and renewable electricity. They create spatially heterogeneous environments that influence crop productivity. The quantitative relationships linking cumulative photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) with wheat productivity remain poorly studied. The objective of this study was to quantify the spatial distribution of cumulative PAR beneath a commercial single-axis tracking APV system and determine its relationship with wheat flowering, physiological responses, and grain yield. Wheat was cultivated across a 19-row transect between photovoltaic arrays at the Bar-Ilan University Agrivoltaic Research Farm, Israel. Cumulative PAR was measured separately for flowering (88 days after sowing, DAS) and physiological maturity (158 DAS). Physiological traits (plant height, SPAD chlorophyll index, and leaf nitrogen concentration), flowering, grain yield, and yield loss were quantified along the radiation gradient. Cumulative PAR varied among the 19 rows from 347 to 1917 mol m−2 at flowering and from 1570 to 4451 mol m−2 at maturity, while corresponding PAR losses ranged from 82.2% to 1.6% and 65.2% to 1.3%, respectively. Flowering increased from 33% in the most shaded row to 100% in the central rows and exhibited a strong quadratic relationship with cumulative PAR (R2 = 0.916; r = 0.913; p < 0.001). Plant height increased with increasing cumulative PAR, whereas SPAD and leaf nitrogen were greatest in the shaded edge rows, indicating physiological acclimation to reduced irradiance. Grain yield ranged from 2.96 to 6.04 t ha−1, corresponding to 46.2% yield loss to a 9.8% yield gain relative to the open-field reference. Grain yield was strongly associated with cumulative PAR (R2 = 0.811; r = 0.862; p < 0.001), while grain-yield loss closely followed PAR loss (R2 = 0.842; r = −0.883; p < 0.001). The results demonstrate that cumulative seasonal PAR is the principal environmental variable governing wheat development and productivity beneath tracking APV systems. The predictive equations developed here provide a practical framework for designing agrivoltaic systems that maximize crop productivity while maintaining efficient photovoltaic electricity generation.
Keywords:
agrivoltaics
wheat
cumulative photosynthetically active radiation
crop productivity
flowering
grain yield
radiation modelling
solar tracking
shading
renewable energy
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