We may soon say goodbye to water in agriculture. A Spanish invention that produces the first “solar fruits” has reached the market. Some methods that were used in the past in agriculture are becoming obsolete or have shown to be not so sustainable, giving way to new formulas for success. What we are going to tell you now will transform your vision of the field forever.
A few days ago, farmers in Spain took to the roads with their tractors to protest against the agricultural policies imposed by the European Union, the Government and the Autonomous Communities. Through this drastic measure, they demanded aid to solve the drought that is devastating our country, among other things.
In the meantime, several researchers are doing their best to help the sector with technological innovations. The latest project comes from the Spanish city of Jaén, where a team of scientists has created an invention to improve the situation.
Agriculture changes forever: “solar fruits” arrive
This group has developed solar panels that increase olive oil production. One of the consequences of the drought is the exacerbated increase in the price of olive oil. Water is a necessary commodity for the growth, development and fruiting of olive trees.
In periods such as these, when scarcity takes hold of the environment, it is not possible to satisfy the demand for what Spanish people call “liquid gold”.
The situation is tense and desperate, which is why a group of scientists from the University of Jaén and the Sapienza University of Rome (Italy) have developed revolutionary solar panels. They jointly studied how to combine agrovoltaic systems with the cultivation of olive trees.
These systems take advantage of the same area of land to obtain solar energy and agricultural products. The aim is to improve both energy production and the production of olives, which are the “solar fruits” we are talking about, since they are the fruit of the olive tree.
An invention that also saves water to combat drought in the olive grove and has bifacial photovoltaic modules as protagonists, which increase their performance thanks to the fact that both sides of the panel manage to absorb the sun’s energy.
Invention to increase production of “solar fruits” changes the concept of agriculture
Agrocoltaic systems have become a promising solution to combat the challenge of food production. To carry out this initiative, the group of researchers has focused on the southern region of our country, an area well known for its extensive olive tree production and oil generation.
The method is based on innovative bifacial photovoltaic panels that increase food generation while harnessing solar energy to provide electricity to irrigation pumping equipment.
However, this is not the only benefit, as they also contribute to the reduction of the irrigation water budget and retain soil moisture during the summer. Experts expose in a study published in the journal Science Direct that, depending on the shade, it is possible to save up to 29% of water in the field.
“Olive trees are shade tolerant and therefore suitable for agrovoltaic systems, as they can grow even in reduced light conditions under photovoltaic modules and still perform efficient photosynthesis.”
“Moreover, the world population of olive trees exceeds 850 million trees and occupies approximately 8.7 million hectares of land, indicating that there is a considerable area potentially available for these systems,” the experts warn in their study.
Thus, the invention that comes from Jaén changes everything we know about agriculture and helps the production of the first “solar fruits”. This news is a source of optimism about the agriculture of the future, in addition to other projects that we have reviewed, such as hydrogen for the fields.