Cherry

Planting cherry tomatoes under photovoltaic panels

At the University of Arizona's Biosphere 2, cherry tomatoes doubled their yield when grown under solar panels, as noted in a 2019 study published in Nature Sustainability. . Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory wanted to find out whether tomatoes would grow better using a specifically designed light filter that leverages a rapidly emerging photovoltaic cell technology that's more flexible, lightweight, and inexpensive. The reduced sunlight reaching the other plants was filtered through purplish panels so that only the spectrum most beneficial to the tomatoes would reach them. Researcher Seth Steichen inspects tomato plants in NREL's Field Test Laboratory Building. Image: Gregory Cooper, NREL Researchers at the U. . Agrivoltaics — agriculture paired with solar arrays — could help the U.