Wild asparagus domestication for food/energy cropping system set up

Abstract

. The solar greenhouse sector is currently unbalanced towards energy production. Thus, the introduction of new crop options, such as wild asparagus, could contribute to the promotion of economic and environmental sustainability in these food/energy systems (mixed-systems). We hypothesized that wild asparagus is able to adapt both to sunny and partially shaded environments provided that both nutrient and water supply are guaranteed. Over a three-year experiment, we carried out an intensive examination of within-season phenological, physiological and productive dynamics under a greenhouse with 50% of the roof area covered with photovoltaic panels. Under the photovoltaic roof the net assimilation rate was on average 5 time lower, averaged over the growing seasons (0.6 μmol CO 2 m -2 s -1 ), resulting in negative results for some monitoring dates. However, lower net assimilation rate did not negatively impact spears production in terms of number, length and diameter. The year of establishment affected the length of the spear, which was 4 cm shorter in 2013 than in 2014 and 2015, when no significant difference was observed. The novelty proposed in this study could be a successful option for farmers to promote production diversification and a promising strategy to guarantee the environmental and economic sustainability of the whole mixed system.