scholarly journals Increasing the comprehensive economic benefits of farmland with Even-lighting Agrivoltaic Systems

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (7) ◽  
pp. e0254482
Author(s):  
Jianan Zheng ◽  
Shoudong Meng ◽  
Xinyu Zhang ◽  
Honglong Zhao ◽  
Xiaolong Ning ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electricity Generation ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Glass Plate ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Natural State ◽  
Nitrate Content ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
New Ideas

Agrivoltaic combines crop planting and electricity generation on the same land, it is considered as an opportunity to resolve the competition for land use between food and energy production. In addition to growing crops, farmers can gain electricity with the installation of agrivoltaic systems on their farmland. They can use this clean energy for agricultural production or sell it for extra income. The Chinese government considers it an important strategy for “Targeted Poverty Alleviation”. However, current methods of agrivoltaic provide uneven and low irradiance for crops, which usually results in reduced yield and low quality. In this study, an improved agrivoltaic system with a grooved glass plate has been designed, manufactured, and investigated, called Even-lighting Agrivoltaic System (EAS). Two experiments were conducted to test the effectiveness of the improvement. We measured the crops’ light environment, the crop growth process, the crop yield and quality, the electricity generation, and calculated the Land Equivalent Ratio (LER) as well as the comprehensive economic benefits on the farmland per hectare. Under the EAS, crops grew fast and the yield was similar or better than that under the natural state. By adding supplementary LED lamps into the EAS, the soluble sugar content of lettuce increased by 72.14% and the nitrate content of lettuce decreased by 21.51%. The average LER of the EAS for common vegetables was 1.64 as demonstrated in this work. Comprehensive economic benefits outperform the installation and maintenance costs, thus, the EAS can increase farmers’ income by an average of 5.14 times. The EAS provides new ideas and directions for the future development of agrivoltaic.

scholarly journals Physiological and Phytochemical Responses of Spinach Baby Leaves Grown in a PFAL System with LEDs and Saline Nutrient Solution

Agriculture ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 574
Author(s):  
Filippos Bantis ◽  
Mariangela Fotelli ◽  
Zoran S. Ilić ◽  
Athanasios Koukounaras
Keyword(s):  
Nutrient Solution ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Maximum Yield ◽  
Photosynthetic Apparatus ◽  
Salinity Level ◽  
Carotenoid Content ◽  
Nitrate Content ◽  
Red Led

Spinach is a leafy vegetable containing a plethora of bioactive compounds. Our study aimed to evaluate the physiological (i.e., JIP-test) and phytochemical response of spinach baby leaves grown with regular or mildly saline (40 mM NaCl) nutrient solution and irradiated by four light-emitting diodes (LEDs) with broad spectra. T1 (highest red and far-red, low blue) and T3 (high red, balanced blue, green and far-red) led to a better developed photosynthetic apparatus compared to T2 (red peak in 631 nm) and T4 (highest blue and green), highlighted by PIABS and its structural components: RC/ABS, φP0, ψE0, and ΔVIP. Elevated salinity only affected the latter parameter. T1 induced the maximum yield production but also the highest nitrate content which was far below the maximum level permitted by European legislation. Regardless of salinity level, T3 enhanced total phenol, chlorophyll, and carotenoid content. T2 and T4 led to inferior nutritional quality. Non-saline nutrient solution promoted the chlorophyll and carotenoid contents and the antioxidant potential, regardless of light treatment. By contrast, soluble sugar content was enhanced by saline nutrient solution. Our study shows that physiology and nutritional quality of spinach baby leaves can be manipulated by small interplays in the light spectra and salinity level.

scholarly journals Bioactive Compounds and Total Sugar Contents of Different Open-Pollinated Beetroot Genotypes Grown Organically

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (21) ◽  
pp. 4884
Author(s):  
Khadijeh Yasaminshirazi ◽  
Jens Hartung ◽  
Michael Fleck ◽  
Simone Graeff-Hoenninger
Keyword(s):  
Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Bioactive Compounds ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Organic Production ◽  
Nitrate Content ◽  
Total Phenolic ◽  
Total Phenolic Compounds ◽  
Total Soluble Sugar

The growing interest of consumers in healthy organic products has increased the attention to the organic production of beetroot. In this regard, six field experiments were conducted in 2017 and 2018 in three different locations under the specific conditions of organic agriculture, and fifteen beetroot genotypes, including one F1 hybrid as a commercial control and one breeding line, were compared regarding the content of the total dry matter, total soluble sugar, nitrate, betalain, and total phenolic compounds in order to investigate the genetic potential of new and existing open-pollinated genotypes of beetroot regarding the content of their bioactive compounds. The results of this study indicated a significant impact of genotype (p < 0.05) on all measured compounds. Furthermore, results revealed a significant influence of the interactions of location × year (p < 0.05) on the beetroot composition, and, thus, the role of environmental conditions for the formation of tested compounds. The total dry matter content (TDMC) of beetroots varied between 14.12% and 17.50%. The genotype ‘Nochowski’, which possessed the highest total soluble sugar content with 14.67 °Bx (Brix), was among the genotypes with the lowest nitrate content. On the contrary, the cylindrical-shaped genotype ‘Carillon RZ’ (Rijk Zwaan), indicated the lowest sugar content and the highest nitrate concentration. The amount of total phenolic compounds ranged between 352.46 ± 28.24 mg GAE 100 g−1 DW (milligrams of gallic acid equivalents per 100 g of dry weight) and 489.06 ± 28.24 mg GAE 100 g−1 DW for the red-colored genotypes which is correlated with the high antioxidant capacity of the investigated genotypes. Due to the specifics of the required content of bioactive compounds for various products, the selection of suitable genotypes should be aligned with the intended final utilization.

scholarly journals The effect of biodegradable nonwovens in butterhead lettuce cultivation for early harvest

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 161-166 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piotr Siwek ◽  
Andrzej Libik ◽  
Izabela Zawiska
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Dry Matter ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Nitrate Content ◽  
Chlorophyll B ◽  
Second Year ◽  
Butterhead Lettuce ◽  
Early Harvest

Abstract Field experiments using ‘melt-blown’ biodegradable nonwovens were carried out on the ‘Melodion’ butterhead lettuce (Lactuca sativa var. capitata L.) cultivar for early harvest. All biodegradable nonwovens were manufactured in the Institute of Biopolymers and Chemical Fibres and POLMATEX CENARO in Łódź, Poland. Lettuce seeds were sown into boxes in a greenhouse at the beginning of March, and transplants were planted into the field at the beginning of April. Biodegradable nonwovens - aromatic polyester IBWCH 75 g m-2, polybutylene succinate Bionolle 100 g m-2 and standard polypropylene PP Agro 20 g m-2 - were stretched over the lettuce in the field. The covers were kept on until 4-5 days before harvest. Plots without covers were defined as the control. Ascorbic acid, soluble sugar, dry matter, nitrates, chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and carotenoid contents were recorded in the leaves. All biodegradable nonwovens showed a positive effect on yielding in comparison to the control in 2009. In the second year of the experiment, there were no significant differences between covers with regard to the yield. Dry matter and soluble sugar content in both years of the experiment was diversified. Nonwovens used as covers in 2009 significantly increased the content of nitrates in comparison to the control. In the second year, the highest level of nitrates was demonstrated in the control object. It is worth underlining that the maximum allowed limit of nitrate content in lettuce (4000 mg kg f.w.) was not exceed. The kind of cover had no significant effect on the level of chlorophyll a in 2009 or chlorophyll b and carotenoids in 2009 and 2010 in the lettuce

scholarly journals Supplemental UV-A Affects Growth and Antioxidants of Chinese Kale Baby-Leaves in Artificial Light Plant Factory

Horticulturae ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (9) ◽  
pp. 294
Author(s):  
Rui He ◽  
Meifang Gao ◽  
Yamin Li ◽  
Yiting Zhang ◽  
Shiwei Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Growth Parameters ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Antioxidant Compounds ◽  
Artificial Light ◽  
Brassica Alboglabra ◽  
Chinese Kale ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Plant Factory

To investigate the effects of supplementary UV-A intensity on growth and antioxidant compounds in Chinese kale (Brassica alboglabra Bailey) baby-leaves, three different UV-A intensity treatments (5, 10, 15 W·m−2, respectively) were applied 10 days before harvest in artificial light plant factory. In Chinese kale baby-leaves, supplemental 5 and 10 W·m−2 UV-A (UVA-5 and UVA-10) were beneficial for inter-node length, stem diameter, canopy diameter, fresh weight and dry weight, particularly in UVA-10 treatment, while these above-mentioned growth parameters all significantly decreased in UVA-15 treatment. The soluble sugar content decreased under UVA-5, but there was no significant difference under UVA-10 and UVA-15. Soluble protein contents decreased under UVA-5 and UVA-10, but significantly increased under UVA-15. UVA-10 played a predominant role in increasing FRAP and contents of total phenolics and total flavonoids compared to other treatments. Contents of total glucosinolates (GLs), aliphatic GLs and indolic GLs in Chinese kale baby-leaves significantly increased with UV-A intensity increasing, and the highest contents were found under UVA-15. The percentage of total aliphatic GLs (about 80%) was significantly higher than those of total indolic GLs. Glucobrassicanapin and sinigrin were two major individual GLs in Chinese kale baby-leaves, variation trends of which were consistent with the contents of total GLs and aliphatic GLs. From the heatmap analysis, and taking economic benefits into account, UVA-10 might be optimal for the production of high-quality Chinese kale baby-leaves in an artificial light plant factory.

scholarly journals Effects of manganese on physiological characters of grapevine cultivars under salinity stress

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sepideh Hatami ◽  
Latifeh Pourakbar
Keyword(s):  
Salinity Stress ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Essential Element ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Ion Accumulation ◽  
Sodium Ion ◽  
Ion Concentration ◽  
Nitrate Content ◽  
Physiological Characters

Salinity is one of the most important environmental factors which have a significant effect on the growth and fertility. Manganese is an essential element that plays a key role as a nutrient in many plant metabolic processes. The present study was carried out to investigate the effects of manganese (1ppm) on Yaghoti and Ghara uzum - two cultivars of grapevine - which were planted and grown under salt stress (0, 50 and 100mmol L-1 NaCl) using greenhouse and hydroponics methods. Results on saline concentration showed led to a significant decrease in length, fresh and dry weight, photosynthesis pigments content, K+ and nitrate content, and K+/Na+ ratio of the plants. It also caused a significant increase in Na+ and Cl- ion concentration and soluble sugar content in shoots and roots of both cultivars. Ghara uzum was more sensitive than Yaghoti to salinity stress. Applying manganese to the medium, resulted in low level of salinity toxicity and sodium ion accumulation in the shoots for Ghara uzum cultivar. For Yaghoti, however, the application of manganese did not reduce the sodium ion accumulation in the shoots, but increased the salinity toxicity. Our findings suggest that Ghara uzum and Yaghoti cultivars had different responses to salinity, manganese and their interaction.

Morphological, Physiological and Biochemical Responses of Poplar Plants to Drought Stress

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (03) ◽  
Author(s):  
ARADHNA KUMARI ◽  
IM KHAN ◽  
ANIL KUMAR SINGH ◽  
SANTOSH KUMAR SINGH
Keyword(s):  
Water Stress ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Biochemical Parameters ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Field Capacity ◽  
Drought Event ◽  
Total Biomass ◽  
Biochemical Responses ◽  
Physiological And Biochemical

Poplar clone Kranti was selected to assess the morphological, physiological and biochemical responses under drought at different levels of water stress, as it is a common clone used to be grown in Uttarakhand for making paper and plywood. The cuttings of Populus deltoides L. (clone Kranti) were exposed to four different watering regimes (100, 75, 50 and 25% of the field capacity) and changes in physiological and biochemical parameters related with drought tolerance were recorded. Alterations in physiological (i.e. decrease in relative water content) and biochemical parameters (i.e. increase in proline and soluble sugar content and build-up of malondialdehyde by-products) occurred in all the three levels of water stress, although drought represented the major determinant. Drought treatments (75%, 50% and 25% FC) decreased plant height, radial stem diameter, harvest index, total biomass content and RWC in all the three watering regimes compared to control (100% FC). Biochemical parameters like proline, soluble sugar and MDA content increased with severity and duration of stress, which helped plants to survive under severe stress. It was analyzed that for better wood yield poplar seedlings should avail either optimum amount of water (amount nearly equal to field capacity of soil) or maximum withdrawal up to 75% of field capacity up to seedling establishment period (60 days). Furthermore, this study manifested that acclimation to drought stress is related with the rapidity, severity, and duration of the drought event of the poplar species.

scholarly journals Enhancing the Quality of Two Species of Baby Leaves Sprayed with Moringa Leaf Extract as Biostimulant

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 1399
Author(s):  
Stefania Toscano ◽  
Antonio Ferrante ◽  
Ferdinando Branca ◽  
Daniela Romano
Keyword(s):  
Leaf Extract ◽  
Foliar Application ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Nitrate Content ◽  
Specific Response ◽  
Yield And Quality ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Moringa Oleifera Lam

Natural biostimulants obtained by plants are intensively used nowadays to improve crop yield and quality. The current study aimed to evaluate the effects of leaf extract of moringa (Moringa oleifera Lam.) (MLE) in modifying baby leaf characteristics of two genotypes of Brassica. The trial was started in October 2020 in a greenhouse; a cultivar of kale ‘Cavolo Laciniato Nero di Toscana’ (CL) and a Sicilian landrace of sprouting broccoli ‘Broccoli Nero’ (BN) were used. The plants, after 15, 30 and 40 days from sowing, were treated with MLE, while the control plants (C) with distilled water. Treatment with MLE modified morphological and nutritional value, but with different behavior in the two genotypes. In fact, in BN the treatment reduced the antioxidant activity (2.2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)) by 54%, while in CL the treatment increased this parameter by 40%. For the phenolic concentration and the sugar content the values recorded were significantly increased by MLE compared to control plants in CL, where in BN a significant reduction was registered. The CL plants treated with MLE showed a significant reduction (−70%) in nitrate content compared to the control plants; a negative effect was, instead, observed in BN, where the plants treated with moringa showed an increase of 60%. Results of this study showed how the foliar application of MLE was effective in improving various nutraceutical parameters, in particular in kale, because it appears to be a species-specific response.

scholarly journals Effects of cadmium stress on growth and physiological characteristics of sassafras seedlings

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongyi Zhao ◽  
Juelan Guan ◽  
Qing Liang ◽  
Xueyuan Zhang ◽  
Hongling Hu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydrogen Peroxide ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
Cadmium Concentration ◽  
Cadmium Stress ◽  
Proline Content ◽  
Physiological Characteristics ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Gas Exchange Parameters ◽  
Photosynthetic Gas Exchange

AbstractThe effects of cadmium stress on the growth and physiological characteristics of Sassafras tzumu Hemsl. were studied in pot experiments. Five Cd levels were tested [CT(Control Treatment) : 0 mg/kg, Cd5: 5 mg/kg, Cd20: 20 mg/kg, Cd50: 50 mg/kg, and Cd100: 100 mg/kg]. The growth and physiological characteristics of the sassafras seedlings in each level were measured. The results showed that soil Cd had negative influences on sassafras growth and reduced the net growth of plant height and the biomass of leaf, branch and root. Significant reductions were recorded in root biomass by 18.18%(Cd5), 27.35%(Cd20), 27.57%(Cd50) and 28.95%(Cd100). The contents of hydrogen peroxide decreased first then increased while malondialdehyde showed the opposite trend with increasing cadmium concentration. Decreases were found in hydrogen peroxide contents by 10.96%(Cd5), 11.82%(Cd20) and 7.02%(Cd50); increases were found in malondialdehyde contents by 15.47%(Cd5), 16.07%(Cd20) and 7.85%(Cd50), indicating that cadmium stress had a certain effect on the peroxidation of the inner cell membranes in the seedlings that resulted in damage to the cell membrane structure. Superoxide dismutase activity decreased among treatments by 17.05%(Cd5), 10,68%(Cd20), 20.85%(Cd50) and 8.91%(Cd100), while peroxidase activity increased steadily with increasing cadmium concentration; these results suggest that peroxidase is likely the main protective enzyme involved in the reactive oxygen removal system in sassafras seedlings. Upward trends were observed in proline content by 90.76%(Cd5), 74.36%(Cd20), 99.73%(Cd50) and 126.01%(Cd100). The increase in proline content with increasing cadmium concentration indicated that cadmium stress induced proline synthesis to resist osmotic stress in the seedlings. Compared to that in CT, the soluble sugar content declined under the different treatments by 32.84%(Cd5), 5.85%(Cd20), 25.55%(Cd50) and 38.69%(Cd100). Increases were observed in the soluble protein content by 2.34%(Cd5), 21.36%(Cd20), 53.15%(Cd50) and 24.22%(Cd100). At different levels of cadmium stress, the chlorophyll content in the seedlings first increased and then decreased, and it was higher in the Cd5 and Cd20 treatments than that in the CT treatment. These results reflected that cadmium had photosynthesis-promoting effects at low concentrations and photosynthesis-suppressing effects at high concentrations. The photosynthetic gas exchange parameters and photosynthetic light-response parameters showed downward trends with increasing cadmium concentration compared with those in CT; these results reflected the negative effects of cadmium stress on photosynthesis in sassafras seedlings.

scholarly journals Nitrate-dominated PM<sub>2.5</sub> and elevation of particle pH observed in urban Beijing during the winter of 2017

2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (8) ◽  
pp. 5019-5033 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuning Xie ◽  
Gehui Wang ◽  
Xinpei Wang ◽  
Jianmin Chen ◽  
Yubao Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Atmospheric Aerosols ◽  
Ammonia Concentration ◽  
Historical Record ◽  
Molar Ratio ◽  
Effective Control ◽  
Nitrate Content ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Low Level ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Pollution Episodes

Abstract. The Chinese government has exerted strict emission controls to mitigate air pollution since 2013, which has resulted in significant decreases in the concentrations of air pollutants such as SO2. Strict pollution control actions also reduced the average PM2.5 concentration to the low level of 39.7 µg m−3 in urban Beijing during the winter of 2017. To investigate the impact of such changes on the physiochemical properties of atmospheric aerosols in China, we conducted a comprehensive observation focusing on PM2.5 in Beijing during the winter of 2017. Compared with the historical record (2014–2017), SO2 decreased to the low level of 3.2 ppbv in the winter of 2017, but the NO2 level was still high (21.4 ppbv in the winter of 2017). Accordingly, the contribution of nitrate (23.0 µg m−3) to PM2.5 far exceeded that of sulfate (13.1 µg m−3) during the pollution episodes, resulting in a significant increase in the nitrate-to-sulfate molar ratio. The thermodynamic model (ISORROPIA II) calculation results showed that during the PM2.5 pollution episodes particle pH increased from 4.4 (moderate acidic) to 5.4 (more neutralized) when the molar ratio of nitrate to sulfate increased from 1 to 5, indicating that aerosols were more neutralized as the nitrate content elevated. Controlled variable tests showed that the pH elevation should be attributed to nitrate fraction increase other than crustal ion and ammonia concentration increases. Based on the results of sensitivity tests, future prediction for the particle acidity change was discussed. We found that nitrate-rich particles in Beijing at low and moderate humid conditions (RH: 20 %–50 %) can absorb twice the amount of water that sulfate-rich particles can, and the nitrate and ammonia with higher levels have synergetic effects, rapidly elevating particle pH to merely neutral (above 5.6). As moderate haze events might occur more frequently under abundant ammonia and nitrate-dominated PM2.5 conditions, the major chemical processes during haze events and the control target should be re-evaluated to obtain the most effective control strategy.

scholarly journals Understanding Technology, Fuel, Market and Policy Drivers for New York State’s Power Sector Transformation

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 265
Author(s):  
Mine Isik ◽  
P. Ozge Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
Electricity Generation ◽  
System Modeling ◽  
New York State ◽  
Clean Energy ◽  
Energy System ◽  
Offshore Wind ◽  
Power Sector ◽  
Reduce Emissions ◽  
Energy System Modeling

A thorough understanding of the drivers that affect the emission levels from electricity generation, support sound design and the implementation of further emission reduction goals are presented here. For instance, New York State has already committed a transition to 100% clean energy by 2040. This paper identifies the relationships among driving factors and the changes in emissions levels between 1990 and 2050 using the logarithmic mean divisia index analysis. The analysis relies on historical data and outputs from techno-economic-energy system modeling to elucidate future power sector pathways. Three scenarios, including a business-as-usual scenario and two policy scenarios, explore the changes in utility structure, efficiency, fuel type, generation, and emission factors, considering the non-fossil-based technology options and air regulations. We present retrospective and prospective analysis of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide emissions for the New York State’s power sector. Based on our findings, although the intensity varies by period and emission type, in aggregate, fossil fuel mix change can be defined as the main contributor to reduce emissions. Electricity generation level variations and technical efficiency have relatively smaller impacts. We also observe that increased emissions due to nuclear phase-out will be avoided by the onshore and offshore wind with a lower fraction met by solar until 2050.

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