Sustainable and Intelligent Phytoprotection in Photovoltaic Agriculture: New Challenges and Opportunities

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

The Research Paper needs the following revisions and is subject for re-review, and after re-review, the final decision for the paper will be done:

1. In the last lines, highlight in what %age and in what parameters the proposed methodology is better as compared to existing techniques and what is the overall analysis.

2. Add more information to the Introduction section with regard to the Background, scope and problem definition.

3. Under related works, stress in the last lines, what overall technical gaps are observed in existing works.

4. Add more stress on the Hardware Based Structure which is designed along with its system architecture, components, working and overall operations.

5. Add some real time case study based discussion to the paper.

6. Add future scope to the paper.

Author Response

Reviewer#1, Concern # 1: In the last lines, highlight in what %age and in what parameters the proposed methodology is better as compared to existing techniques and what is the overall analysis.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: The parameters and the analysis are highlighted in the conclusion. “As one of the novel agricultural production models in the future, PA exhibits a bright prospect. The applications of PAIoTs will facilitate exponential growth in the agricultural IoT field. With the continuous development of PA, the land available for photovoltaic projects has become a constraint. Taking sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land as examples to develop photovoltaic projects, the time slot of agricultural production's income is later than that on normal farmland. And the lack of appropriate plant protection measures will also make PA face greater losses caused by pests and diseases. Thus, with the combination of both PAIoT and SIL-IoTs, the sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection in PA is proposed. Based on phytoprotection applications and their requirements for environmental parameters, series of experiments are designed and performed by testbed A and testbed B to verify their functional stability. In the actual process of deploying wireless sensor nodes, not all the metal brackets of PA are suitable for fixing the nodes, and the wireless sensor nodes should not be deployed at any position on the whole metal bracket where the confluence box is located. In addition, for a certain area with a radius of 6 meters centered on the confluence box, when the connecting line between the sending node and the receiving node passes through this area, the PRR of the receiving node will suffer a negative impact, and even zero. These will be the constraint conditions for the wireless sensor nodes’ deployment in PA, indicating the new challenges and future research opportunities in PA.”

 

 

Reviewer#1, Concern # 2: Add more information to the Introduction section with regard to the Background, scope and problem definition.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: More information is added in the introduction.

“The smooth development of agro-photovoltaic complementarity projects needs to ensure a certain amount of power generation income, a certain amount of land for the PA system, and related agricultural production facilities, indicating that the three factors, including the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels, the policy of photovoltaic land utilization, and the agricultural equipment, should be considered in PA. The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels is closely related to the geographical environment. The policy of photovoltaic land utilization is also being gradually adjusted to adapt to the new developments of PA. Due to the obstruction of the PA’s metal bracket, it is challenging to use drones within the PA systems for monitoring plant growth, and plant protection measures by the satellites.

For agro-photovoltaic complementarity systems in a region, the two factors that are important are which PA system and how to carry out smart agriculture practices within PA system, especially plant protection measures for coping with plant diseases and pests. At present, with the continuous development of information and communications technologies and the shortage of cheap labour, there is an urgent need for sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection to achieve a more efficient way of plant protection. Therefore, we addressed new challenges and provided new opportunities while developing sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection in PA. It is important to consider sensors deployment in PA to monitor pests and diseases according to the Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) in PA. In this paper, we tested the optimal location for sensors within the PA systems.”

Reviewer#1, Concern # 3: Under related works, stress in the last lines, what overall technical gaps are observed in existing works.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: The technical gaps are described.

“The environment in various regions show great differences, where the crops that can be planted are also very different. The material of photovoltaic panels also affects the transmittance of the panel. All these factors make the determination of coverage rate of photovoltaic panels face huge challenges.”

 

“Although sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are not restricted as photovoltaic land utilization, there are great challenges in engaging in agricultural production on such land.”

 

“At the same time, it is necessary to adjust agricultural production parameters according to actual environmental conditions. At present, there is still a lack of technology and equipment suitable for agricultural monitoring and plant protection in PA.”

 

Reviewer#1, Concern # 4: Add more stress on the Hardware Based Structure which is designed along with its system architecture, components, working and overall operations.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: More information about the testbed A and B has been added.

“The testbed A comprises Raspberry Pi, ZigBee module, and power, as shown in Figure 5(e). As depicted in Figure 6(b), the power supplies the energy to both Raspberry Pi and ZigBee modules. After collecting the data from ZigBee module, data is stored in the SD card of Raspberry Pi.

The testbed A is placed in a position to perform a long-term monitoring experiment. The data can be obtained through the WiFi-based device temporarily deployed nearby. However, during the period of data acquisition, the data may show new changes. Therefore, testbed A must wait to meet the data viewing requirements in time.

 

The testbed B comprises ZigBee module and computer, as shown in Figure 5(f). As depicted in Figure 6(d), the computer supplies the energy to ZigBee module. After collecting the data from ZigBee module, data is stored in the disk of the computer.

Testbed B is directly connected to the computer, which can quickly acquire and present data on the computer's screen. The experimenter can move testbed B through the bracket and synchronously observe the data change to quickly judge the experimental effect. If the data is missing at a certain moment, it means that the data packet has not been received at that moment. Considering this characteristic of testbed B, it is suitable for pre-experiment.”

 

Figure 6 The testbeds in the experiments

 

Reviewer#1, Concern # 5: Add some real time case study based discussion to the paper.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: Experimental discussion has been added.

“3.4 Experimental discussion

Through these three experiments, it can be found that carrying out experiments in the same position cannot get the same results. Because EMI is affected by environmental factors such as light intensity, EMI in PA exhibits random characteristics, which also leads to different influences on the PRR of nodes. Therefore, it is suitable for qualitative analysis based on the experimental results.”

 

 

Reviewer#1, Concern # 6: Add future scope to the paper.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: Future scope has been added.

“For future scope, we plan to conduct further research about sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection in the following six aspects.

1) Sustainable and intelligent pest identification and control in PA;

2) Green intelligent biological control technology in PA;

3) Green intelligent ecological control technology in PA;

4) Scientific breeding and quality control technology in PA;

5) Green smart and scientific pesticide application technology in PA;

6) Intelligent weather disaster prevention technology in PA.”

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

This paper has an interesting topic and there have been improvements in the revised version, However, there are some points that should be addressed.

1- The number of references in the introduction section is small. More relevant references should be added to this section. you can use the following references:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117514

https://doi.org/10.1109/TSTE.2020.2978634

https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRS.2022.3170933

2- Figures 6, 7, and 8 should be cropped and included in the article in a more appropriate way. In their current state, they don't look good

3- Figures 6, 7, and 8 need further explanation and analysis. In the current state, the explanation is not enough

4- Tables 1, 2 and 3 have not been sufficiently analyzed and reviewed.

Author Response

Reviewer#2, Concern # 1: The number of references in the introduction section is small. More relevant references should be added to this section. you can use the following references:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117514

https://doi.org/10.1109/TSTE.2020.2978634

https://doi.org/10.1109/TPWRS.2022.3170933

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: We have added the “https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2021.117514” as the reference while the other two are unrelevant.

“1. PA-related works

From the conclusion in [10], the optimal niche improvement path of PA in China includes the following six factors, technological innovation, policy formulation, resource allocation, economic improvement, social recognition, and environmental protection. Recently there have been many PA-related works, mainly about the innovative application of PA as a novel production mode [11]. However, there needs to be more evidence in support of the application of agricultural monitoring facilities in PA, much less the plant protection facilities in PA. Therefore, three factors are considered in this paper: 1) the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels, 2) the policy of photovoltaic land utilization, and 3) absence of agricultural monitoring facilities.

1.1. The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels

The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels will determine the choice of either agricultural production or photovoltaic power generation.

When the coverage rate is no more than 50%, both agricultural production and photovoltaic power generation can be realized to some extent [12,13]. Therefore, before carrying out the photovoltaic agriculture project, it is necessary to consider the local environment, and the types of crops [14]. Forecasting models based on the satellite image-based photovoltaic power, the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels can be predicted [15].

There is also much research on thin-film photovoltaic cells with different light transmittance, which benefits plants’ growth under the panels. Due to conventional opaque photovoltaic modules causing a change in the microclimate under the panels, semi-transparent PV modules have been recently studied by considering the use of semi-transparent technologies based on crystalline silicon, thin-film photovoltaics, organic PVs, dye-sensitized solar cells, concentrating PVs, and luminescent solar concentrators [16]. Because there is still no significant advantage in manufacturing cost, the popularization and application of thin-film photovoltaic cells remain a significant challenge [17].

1.2. The policy of photovoltaic land utilization

The policy change of photovoltaic land utilization will affect the types and output of plants planted in agricultural production [10].

Until 2021, China’s photovoltaic industry continued to triumph, with photovoltaic module output ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years, polysilicon output ranking first in the world for 11 consecutive years, newly installed capacity ranking first in the world for 9 consecutive years, and cumulative installed capacity ranking first in the world for 7 consecutive years [18]. The vigorous development of photovoltaic industry also means the constant policy adjustment of photovoltaic land utilization [19,20]. In future, cultivated land should be occupied by something other than composite photovoltaic projects. Both sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are the potential choices for the photovoltaic projects, with power generation on the shed and animal husbandry under the shed.

Although sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are unrestricted as photovoltaic land utilization, there are significant challenges in engaging in agricultural production on such land.

1.3. Absence of agricultural monitoring facilities

Due to the shielding effect of photovoltaic panels, loss from natural disasters, including intense light and hail, can be avoided, and a safe and stable growth environment can be provided for plants. At the same time, photovoltaic facilities will positively impact the ecological environment and climate of the region. However, due to the obstruction of the metal bracket, there needs to be more agricultural machinery with suitable size, especially in the area blocked by metal brackets under photovoltaic panels. This also leads to the need for manpower to complete the corresponding production operations, increasing the production cost.

• After deploying photovoltaic facilities in arid and desertification areas, the large-scale photovoltaic facilities improved the local microclimate and soil temperature and humidity between photovoltaic arrays, which increased the local plant coverage and carbon sequestration potential [21]. Therefore, after the establishment of photovoltaic power stations in northwest China, there is more and more forage grass under photovoltaic facilities, enough to support animal husbandry.
• For saline-alkaline land, except for highly severe saline-alkaline land and land plots with large topographic relief, they can be improved by engineering and agronomic measures to become farmland or land for agricultural facilities construction. Following the above principles on saline-alkaline land, grass planting, oat planting, well drilling and rice planting are selected for land improvement, and utilization [22]. Land improvement can combine favourable environmental and climate changes to produce a better effect.

Generally speaking, after photovoltaic projects are carried out in the sandy wasteland, saline-alkaline land, the planting environment can be gradually improved in the next few years, which is of great help to improve the economic benefits of agricultural production. At the same time, it is necessary to adjust agricultural production parameters according to actual environmental conditions. There still needs to be more technology and equipment suitable for agricultural monitoring and plant protection in PA.

 

Added references:

[10] Wang, Lingjun; Li, Yuanyuan. Research on Niche Improvement Path of Photovoltaic Agriculture in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2022, 19, 13087.

[11] Fu, Xueqian; Niu, Haosen. Key Technologies and Applications of Agricultural Energy Internet for Agricultural Planting and Fisheries Industry. Information Processing in Agriculture 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2022.10.004.

[13] Touil, Sami; Richa, Amina; Fizir, Meriem; Bingwa, Brendon. Shading Effect of Photovoltaic Panels on Horticulture Crops Production: A Mini Review. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology 2021, 20, 281–296.

[14] Cho, Jaiyoung; Park, Sung Min; Park, A Reum; Lee, On Chan; Nam, Geemoon; Ra, In-Ho. Application of Photovoltaic Systems for Agriculture A Study on the Relationship between Power Generation and Farming for the Improvement of Photovoltaic Applications in Agriculture. Energies 2020, 13, 4815.

[15] Si, Zhiyuan; Yang, Ming; Yu, Yixiao; Ding, Tingting. Photovoltaic Power Forecast Based on Satellite Images Considering Effects of Solar Position. Applied Energy 2021, 302, 117514.

[16] Gorjian, Shiva; Bousi, Erion; Özdemir, Özal Emre; Trommsdorff, Max; Kumar, Nallapaneni Manoj; Anand, Abhishek; Kant, Karunesh; Chopra, Shauhrat S. Progress and Challenges of Crop Production and Electricity Generation in Agrivoltaic Systems using Semi-transparent Photovoltaic Technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2022, 158, 112126. ”

 

Reviewer#2, Concern # 2: Figures 6, 7, and 8 should be cropped and included in the article in a more appropriate way. In their current state, they don't look good.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: Figures 6, 7, and 8 have been modified.

Figure 7 PRR change with time.

Figure 8 CRC_Error change with time.

Figure 9 RSSI change with time.

 

 

Reviewer#2, Concern # 3: Figures 6, 7, and 8 need further explanation and analysis. In the current state, the explanation is not enough.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: More description of Figures 6, 7, and 8 is added.

“After the data collected from 2021/9/11 13:30:11 to 16:07:41, we can draw Figure 6 about PRR change with time. If it exhibits a big change, it means that around the testbed, there is interference, such as the value of PRR marked in the red box. We can also draw Figure 7 about CRC\_error change with time and Figure 8 about RSSI change with time, both of which are set to indicate the existence of interference originally. However, they could have worked more obviously and stably as PRR changed with time. So PRR change with time is chosen as the main result in the following experiments.”

 

 

Reviewer#2, Concern # 4: Tables 1, 2 and 3 have not been sufficiently analyzed and reviewed.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: More information about Tables 1, 2 and 3 has been added.

“Table 1 shows whether the PRR of the receiving node is affected. The purpose of these experiments are to verify the existence of EMI in PA.

• In the experiments with the No from 1 to 4, move the receiving node to change the distance between the receiving node and the confluence box.
• In the experiment with the No 5, move the sending node and the receiving node simultaneously to stay away from the confluence box.
• In the experiments with the No from 6 to 8, move the sending node to change the position of both the sending node and the receiving node and to change the distance between the receiving node and the confluence box.
• In the experiment with the No 9, move the sending node and the receiving node away from the confluence box simultaneously.

 

Table 2 shows whether the PRR of the receiving node is affected. The purpose of these experiments is to determine the area where EMI exists.

• In the experiments with the No from 1 to 4, move the receiving node to change the distance between the receiving node and the confluence box.
• In the experiment with No 5, move the sending node to the other side of the metal bracket under the photovoltaic panels, and at the same time, move the receiving node so that the connection line between the sending and receiving nodes does not pass through the confluence box.
• In the experiments with the No from 6 to 7, fix the position of the receiving node and move the sending node to the neighbour metal bracket of the same photovoltaic array.
• In the experiments with the No from 8 to 11, exchange the positions of the sending node and the receiving node corresponding to the experiments with the No from 1 to 4.
• In the experiments with the No from 12 to 14, which is different from the experiments with the No from 5 to 7, move the sending node so that the confluence box can appear on the connection line between the sending and receiving nodes.

 

Table 3 shows whether the PRR of the receiving node is affected. These experiments aim to study the change law of communication quality under the conditions of different transmitting and receiving power. The experimental position is the same as those in Table 2, but the node power used in the experiment in Table 3 is 21dBm, which is significantly higher than those in Table 2, to observe the influence of node power on the receiving node’s PRR in the interference environment.”

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 3 Report

1. For photos in the article, the source should be given in the description of the photo (group) and not only in the text

2. The second figure shows that since 2017 there are less and less of the listed applications of photovoltaic panels

3. Literature review needs a thorough expansion, much of the current literature is web pages

4. The structure of the article is chaotic, bullet points are mixed up with chapter numbers

5. The title does not correspond to the content of the article, due to the very poor presentation of the literature review.

The only creative part of the article is the analysis of wireless communication of sensors.

6. Basic elements of the article are missing, such as references to other results, discussion of unique results (if any)

Author Response

Reviewer#3, Concern # 1: For photos in the article, the source should be given in the description of the photo (group) and not only in the text.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: Figure 1 has been modified.

 

Reviewer#3, Concern # 2: The second figure shows that since 2017 there are less and less of the listed applications of photovoltaic panels.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: Since 2017 there are less and less of the listed applications of photovoltaic panels due to foreign countries’ sanctions against China's photovoltaic industry, further improving the technological innovation in photovoltaic industry in recent years.

 

 

Reviewer#3, Concern # 3: Literature review needs a thorough expansion, much of the current literature is web pages.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: We have modified the main content as follows:

“1. PA-related works

From the conclusion in [10], the optimal niche improvement path of PA in China includes the following six factors, technological innovation, policy formulation, resource allocation, economic improvement, social recognition, and environmental protection. Recently there have been many PA-related works, mainly about the innovative application of PA as a novel production mode [11]. However, there needs to be more evidence in support of the application of agricultural monitoring facilities in PA, much less the plant protection facilities in PA. Therefore, three factors are considered in this paper: 1) the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels, 2) the policy of photovoltaic land utilization, and 3) absence of agricultural monitoring facilities.

1.1. The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels

The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels will determine the choice of either agricultural production or photovoltaic power generation.

When the coverage rate is no more than 50%, both agricultural production and photovoltaic power generation can be realized to some extent [12,13]. Therefore, before carrying out the photovoltaic agriculture project, it is necessary to consider the local environment, and the types of crops [14]. Forecasting models based on the satellite image-based photovoltaic power, the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels can be predicted [15].

There is also much research on thin-film photovoltaic cells with different light transmittance, which benefits plants’ growth under the panels. Due to conventional opaque photovoltaic modules causing a change in the microclimate under the panels, semi-transparent PV modules have been recently studied by considering the use of semi-transparent technologies based on crystalline silicon, thin-film photovoltaics, organic PVs, dye-sensitized solar cells, concentrating PVs, and luminescent solar concentrators [16]. Because there is still no significant advantage in manufacturing cost, the popularization and application of thin-film photovoltaic cells remain a significant challenge [17].

1.2. The policy of photovoltaic land utilization

The policy change of photovoltaic land utilization will affect the types and output of plants planted in agricultural production [10].

Until 2021, China’s photovoltaic industry continued to triumph, with photovoltaic module output ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years, polysilicon output ranking first in the world for 11 consecutive years, newly installed capacity ranking first in the world for 9 consecutive years, and cumulative installed capacity ranking first in the world for 7 consecutive years [18]. The vigorous development of photovoltaic industry also means the constant policy adjustment of photovoltaic land utilization [19,20]. In future, cultivated land should be occupied by something other than composite photovoltaic projects. Both sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are the potential choices for the photovoltaic projects, with power generation on the shed and animal husbandry under the shed.

Although sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are unrestricted as photovoltaic land utilization, there are significant challenges in engaging in agricultural production on such land.

1.3. Absence of agricultural monitoring facilities

Due to the shielding effect of photovoltaic panels, loss from natural disasters, including intense light and hail, can be avoided, and a safe and stable growth environment can be provided for plants. At the same time, photovoltaic facilities will positively impact the ecological environment and climate of the region. However, due to the obstruction of the metal bracket, there needs to be more agricultural machinery with suitable size, especially in the area blocked by metal brackets under photovoltaic panels. This also leads to the need for manpower to complete the corresponding production operations, increasing the production cost.

• After deploying photovoltaic facilities in arid and desertification areas, the large-scale photovoltaic facilities improved the local microclimate and soil temperature and humidity between photovoltaic arrays, which increased the local plant coverage and carbon sequestration potential [21]. Therefore, after the establishment of photovoltaic power stations in northwest China, there is more and more forage grass under photovoltaic facilities, enough to support animal husbandry.
• For saline-alkaline land, except for highly severe saline-alkaline land and land plots with large topographic relief, they can be improved by engineering and agronomic measures to become farmland or land for agricultural facilities construction. Following the above principles on saline-alkaline land, grass planting, oat planting, well drilling and rice planting are selected for land improvement, and utilization [22]. Land improvement can combine favourable environmental and climate changes to produce a better effect.

Generally speaking, after photovoltaic projects are carried out in the sandy wasteland, saline-alkaline land, the planting environment can be gradually improved in the next few years, which is of great help to improve the economic benefits of agricultural production. At the same time, it is necessary to adjust agricultural production parameters according to actual environmental conditions. There still needs to be more technology and equipment suitable for agricultural monitoring and plant protection in PA.

 

Added references:

[10] Wang, Lingjun; Li, Yuanyuan. Research on Niche Improvement Path of Photovoltaic Agriculture in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2022, 19, 13087.

[11] Fu, Xueqian; Niu, Haosen. Key Technologies and Applications of Agricultural Energy Internet for Agricultural Planting and Fisheries Industry. Information Processing in Agriculture 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2022.10.004.

[13] Touil, Sami; Richa, Amina; Fizir, Meriem; Bingwa, Brendon. Shading Effect of Photovoltaic Panels on Horticulture Crops Production: A Mini Review. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology 2021, 20, 281–296.

[14] Cho, Jaiyoung; Park, Sung Min; Park, A Reum; Lee, On Chan; Nam, Geemoon; Ra, In-Ho. Application of Photovoltaic Systems for Agriculture A Study on the Relationship between Power Generation and Farming for the Improvement of Photovoltaic Applications in Agriculture. Energies 2020, 13, 4815.

[15] Si, Zhiyuan; Yang, Ming; Yu, Yixiao; Ding, Tingting. Photovoltaic Power Forecast Based on Satellite Images Considering Effects of Solar Position. Applied Energy 2021, 302, 117514.

[16] Gorjian, Shiva; Bousi, Erion; Özdemir, Özal Emre; Trommsdorff, Max; Kumar, Nallapaneni Manoj; Anand, Abhishek; Kant, Karunesh; Chopra, Shauhrat S. Progress and Challenges of Crop Production and Electricity Generation in Agrivoltaic Systems using Semi-transparent Photovoltaic Technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2022, 158, 112126. ”

 

 

Reviewer#3, Concern # 4: The structure of the article is chaotic, bullet points are mixed up with chapter numbers.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: We have modified the structure as follows:

“1. PA-related works

1.1. The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels

1.2. The policy of photovoltaic land utilization

1.3. Absence of agricultural monitoring facilities”

 

Reviewer#3, Concern # 5: The title does not correspond to the content of the article, due to the very poor presentation of the literature review. The only creative part of the article is the analysis of wireless communication of sensors.

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: We have modified the main content as follows:

“1. PA-related works

From the conclusion in [10], the optimal niche improvement path of PA in China includes the following six factors, technological innovation, policy formulation, resource allocation, economic improvement, social recognition, and environmental protection. Recently there have been many PA-related works, mainly about the innovative application of PA as a novel production mode [11]. However, there needs to be more evidence in support of the application of agricultural monitoring facilities in PA, much less the plant protection facilities in PA. Therefore, three factors are considered in this paper: 1) the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels, 2) the policy of photovoltaic land utilization, and 3) absence of agricultural monitoring facilities.

1.1. The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels

The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels will determine the choice of either agricultural production or photovoltaic power generation.

When the coverage rate is no more than 50%, both agricultural production and photovoltaic power generation can be realized to some extent [12,13]. Therefore, before carrying out the photovoltaic agriculture project, it is necessary to consider the local environment, and the types of crops [14]. Forecasting models based on the satellite image-based photovoltaic power, the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels can be predicted [15].

There is also much research on thin-film photovoltaic cells with different light transmittance, which benefits plants’ growth under the panels. Due to conventional opaque photovoltaic modules causing a change in the microclimate under the panels, semi-transparent PV modules have been recently studied by considering the use of semi-transparent technologies based on crystalline silicon, thin-film photovoltaics, organic PVs, dye-sensitized solar cells, concentrating PVs, and luminescent solar concentrators [16]. Because there is still no significant advantage in manufacturing cost, the popularization and application of thin-film photovoltaic cells remain a significant challenge [17].

1.2. The policy of photovoltaic land utilization

The policy change of photovoltaic land utilization will affect the types and output of plants planted in agricultural production [10].

Until 2021, China’s photovoltaic industry continued to triumph, with photovoltaic module output ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years, polysilicon output ranking first in the world for 11 consecutive years, newly installed capacity ranking first in the world for 9 consecutive years, and cumulative installed capacity ranking first in the world for 7 consecutive years [18]. The vigorous development of photovoltaic industry also means the constant policy adjustment of photovoltaic land utilization [19,20]. In future, cultivated land should be occupied by something other than composite photovoltaic projects. Both sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are the potential choices for the photovoltaic projects, with power generation on the shed and animal husbandry under the shed.

Although sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are unrestricted as photovoltaic land utilization, there are significant challenges in engaging in agricultural production on such land.

1.3. Absence of agricultural monitoring facilities

Due to the shielding effect of photovoltaic panels, loss from natural disasters, including intense light and hail, can be avoided, and a safe and stable growth environment can be provided for plants. At the same time, photovoltaic facilities will positively impact the ecological environment and climate of the region. However, due to the obstruction of the metal bracket, there needs to be more agricultural machinery with suitable size, especially in the area blocked by metal brackets under photovoltaic panels. This also leads to the need for manpower to complete the corresponding production operations, increasing the production cost.

• After deploying photovoltaic facilities in arid and desertification areas, the large-scale photovoltaic facilities improved the local microclimate and soil temperature and humidity between photovoltaic arrays, which increased the local plant coverage and carbon sequestration potential [21]. Therefore, after the establishment of photovoltaic power stations in northwest China, there is more and more forage grass under photovoltaic facilities, enough to support animal husbandry.
• For saline-alkaline land, except for highly severe saline-alkaline land and land plots with large topographic relief, they can be improved by engineering and agronomic measures to become farmland or land for agricultural facilities construction. Following the above principles on saline-alkaline land, grass planting, oat planting, well drilling and rice planting are selected for land improvement, and utilization [22]. Land improvement can combine favourable environmental and climate changes to produce a better effect.

Generally speaking, after photovoltaic projects are carried out in the sandy wasteland, saline-alkaline land, the planting environment can be gradually improved in the next few years, which is of great help to improve the economic benefits of agricultural production. At the same time, it is necessary to adjust agricultural production parameters according to actual environmental conditions. There still needs to be more technology and equipment suitable for agricultural monitoring and plant protection in PA.

 

Added references:

[10] Wang, Lingjun; Li, Yuanyuan. Research on Niche Improvement Path of Photovoltaic Agriculture in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2022, 19, 13087.

[11] Fu, Xueqian; Niu, Haosen. Key Technologies and Applications of Agricultural Energy Internet for Agricultural Planting and Fisheries Industry. Information Processing in Agriculture 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2022.10.004.

[13] Touil, Sami; Richa, Amina; Fizir, Meriem; Bingwa, Brendon. Shading Effect of Photovoltaic Panels on Horticulture Crops Production: A Mini Review. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology 2021, 20, 281–296.

[14] Cho, Jaiyoung; Park, Sung Min; Park, A Reum; Lee, On Chan; Nam, Geemoon; Ra, In-Ho. Application of Photovoltaic Systems for Agriculture A Study on the Relationship between Power Generation and Farming for the Improvement of Photovoltaic Applications in Agriculture. Energies 2020, 13, 4815.

[15] Si, Zhiyuan; Yang, Ming; Yu, Yixiao; Ding, Tingting. Photovoltaic Power Forecast Based on Satellite Images Considering Effects of Solar Position. Applied Energy 2021, 302, 117514.

[16] Gorjian, Shiva; Bousi, Erion; Özdemir, Özal Emre; Trommsdorff, Max; Kumar, Nallapaneni Manoj; Anand, Abhishek; Kant, Karunesh; Chopra, Shauhrat S. Progress and Challenges of Crop Production and Electricity Generation in Agrivoltaic Systems using Semi-transparent Photovoltaic Technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2022, 158, 112126. ”

 

 

Reviewer#3, Concern # 6: Basic elements of the article are missing, such as references to other results, discussion of unique results (if any).

Author response:  Thank you for pointing this out. We fully agree.

Author action: We have modified the main content as follows:

“1. PA-related works

From the conclusion in [10], the optimal niche improvement path of PA in China includes the following six factors, technological innovation, policy formulation, resource allocation, economic improvement, social recognition, and environmental protection. Recently there have been many PA-related works, mainly about the innovative application of PA as a novel production mode [11]. However, there needs to be more evidence in support of the application of agricultural monitoring facilities in PA, much less the plant protection facilities in PA. Therefore, three factors are considered in this paper: 1) the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels, 2) the policy of photovoltaic land utilization, and 3) absence of agricultural monitoring facilities.

1.1. The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels

The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels will determine the choice of either agricultural production or photovoltaic power generation.

When the coverage rate is no more than 50%, both agricultural production and photovoltaic power generation can be realized to some extent [12,13]. Therefore, before carrying out the photovoltaic agriculture project, it is necessary to consider the local environment, and the types of crops [14]. Forecasting models based on the satellite image-based photovoltaic power, the coverage rate of photovoltaic panels can be predicted [15].

There is also much research on thin-film photovoltaic cells with different light transmittance, which benefits plants’ growth under the panels. Due to conventional opaque photovoltaic modules causing a change in the microclimate under the panels, semi-transparent PV modules have been recently studied by considering the use of semi-transparent technologies based on crystalline silicon, thin-film photovoltaics, organic PVs, dye-sensitized solar cells, concentrating PVs, and luminescent solar concentrators [16]. Because there is still no significant advantage in manufacturing cost, the popularization and application of thin-film photovoltaic cells remain a significant challenge [17].

1.2. The policy of photovoltaic land utilization

The policy change of photovoltaic land utilization will affect the types and output of plants planted in agricultural production [10].

Until 2021, China’s photovoltaic industry continued to triumph, with photovoltaic module output ranking first in the world for 15 consecutive years, polysilicon output ranking first in the world for 11 consecutive years, newly installed capacity ranking first in the world for 9 consecutive years, and cumulative installed capacity ranking first in the world for 7 consecutive years [18]. The vigorous development of photovoltaic industry also means the constant policy adjustment of photovoltaic land utilization [19,20]. In future, cultivated land should be occupied by something other than composite photovoltaic projects. Both sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are the potential choices for the photovoltaic projects, with power generation on the shed and animal husbandry under the shed.

Although sandy wasteland and saline-alkaline land are unrestricted as photovoltaic land utilization, there are significant challenges in engaging in agricultural production on such land.

1.3. Absence of agricultural monitoring facilities

Due to the shielding effect of photovoltaic panels, loss from natural disasters, including intense light and hail, can be avoided, and a safe and stable growth environment can be provided for plants. At the same time, photovoltaic facilities will positively impact the ecological environment and climate of the region. However, due to the obstruction of the metal bracket, there needs to be more agricultural machinery with suitable size, especially in the area blocked by metal brackets under photovoltaic panels. This also leads to the need for manpower to complete the corresponding production operations, increasing the production cost.

• After deploying photovoltaic facilities in arid and desertification areas, the large-scale photovoltaic facilities improved the local microclimate and soil temperature and humidity between photovoltaic arrays, which increased the local plant coverage and carbon sequestration potential [21]. Therefore, after the establishment of photovoltaic power stations in northwest China, there is more and more forage grass under photovoltaic facilities, enough to support animal husbandry.
• For saline-alkaline land, except for highly severe saline-alkaline land and land plots with large topographic relief, they can be improved by engineering and agronomic measures to become farmland or land for agricultural facilities construction. Following the above principles on saline-alkaline land, grass planting, oat planting, well drilling and rice planting are selected for land improvement, and utilization [22]. Land improvement can combine favourable environmental and climate changes to produce a better effect.

Generally speaking, after photovoltaic projects are carried out in the sandy wasteland, saline-alkaline land, the planting environment can be gradually improved in the next few years, which is of great help to improve the economic benefits of agricultural production. At the same time, it is necessary to adjust agricultural production parameters according to actual environmental conditions. There still needs to be more technology and equipment suitable for agricultural monitoring and plant protection in PA.

 

Added references:

[10] Wang, Lingjun; Li, Yuanyuan. Research on Niche Improvement Path of Photovoltaic Agriculture in China. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 2022, 19, 13087.

[11] Fu, Xueqian; Niu, Haosen. Key Technologies and Applications of Agricultural Energy Internet for Agricultural Planting and Fisheries Industry. Information Processing in Agriculture 2022, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.inpa.2022.10.004.

[13] Touil, Sami; Richa, Amina; Fizir, Meriem; Bingwa, Brendon. Shading Effect of Photovoltaic Panels on Horticulture Crops Production: A Mini Review. Reviews in Environmental Science and Bio/Technology 2021, 20, 281–296.

[14] Cho, Jaiyoung; Park, Sung Min; Park, A Reum; Lee, On Chan; Nam, Geemoon; Ra, In-Ho. Application of Photovoltaic Systems for Agriculture A Study on the Relationship between Power Generation and Farming for the Improvement of Photovoltaic Applications in Agriculture. Energies 2020, 13, 4815.

[15] Si, Zhiyuan; Yang, Ming; Yu, Yixiao; Ding, Tingting. Photovoltaic Power Forecast Based on Satellite Images Considering Effects of Solar Position. Applied Energy 2021, 302, 117514.

[16] Gorjian, Shiva; Bousi, Erion; Özdemir, Özal Emre; Trommsdorff, Max; Kumar, Nallapaneni Manoj; Anand, Abhishek; Kant, Karunesh; Chopra, Shauhrat S. Progress and Challenges of Crop Production and Electricity Generation in Agrivoltaic Systems using Semi-transparent Photovoltaic Technology. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2022, 158, 112126. ”

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

The Revised Paper has incorporated all the revisions and now the paper can be accepted for publication.

Author Response

Thanks very much.

Reviewer 2 Report

Dear Authors

Thanks for addressing my previous comments.

Best Wishes

Author Response

Thanks very much.

Reviewer 3 Report

The title of the article blurs the true content of the work. This is not a review paper on the given topic due to the very small number of cited papers. The only added value of the article is the analysis of the location of the wireless receiver and the title of the article should be related to this, otherwise it is misleading.

Author Response

Author response:  Thank you very much for your advice. We understand this, and we think it is important. Then we expand the content about the future research opportunities.

Author action:

“4.1 SIL deployment strategy in PA

At present, the physical prevention and control equipment for pests includes entomological radar, high altitude forecast lamp, insect situation forecast lamp, SIL, sex pheromone lamp, sticky insect board, and so on. For the deployment of physical prevention and control equipment, the existing research mainly focuses on the SIL deployment [32][33][34]. The deployment constraint conditions include full coverage, full connectivity of network, node deployment location constraints, and nonuniform deployment environment constraints. The deployment optimization objectives include maximizing the overlap rate, and maximizing the total network weight. However, the scenario characteristics of six PA modes are quite different where the deployment constraint conditions need to be updated.

• The deployment strategy of SILs in photovoltaic agricultural greenhouse needs to consider the size limitation of greenhouse.
• The deployment strategy of SILs in forestry-photovoltaic complementarity needs to consider the constraints of topography and geomorphology.
• In the fishery-optical complementarity, the insecticidal lamp without metal mesh can be deployed, and the pests fall into the water after colliding with the lamp, further being food for fish. This structure of insecticidal lamp is simple and the cost is cheap, so we can improve the deployed insecticidal lamp quantity under the same budget, thereby reducing the loss of crops around the water area by pests.
• For the agro-photovoltaic complementarity, husbandry-photovoltaic complementarity, and photovoltaic sand control, according to the previous experimental conclusions, it is not suitable to deploy wireless sensor network nodes in the area where the confluence box is located. In addition, the installed capacity should also be taken into consideration, which is related to the size of the above area.

 

4.2 Environmental sensors deployment strategy in PA

To monitor environmental conditions in PA, it is necessary to consider the environmental sensors deployment strategy in the following five aspects.

• The climate in PA will change due to the shading effect of photovoltaic panels. Taking agro-photovoltaic complementarity, husbandry-photovoltaic complementarity, and photovoltaic sand control as examples, the transpiration of the soil below is weakened, and the soil moisture content is increased, which is beneficial to plant growth and the outbreak of plant diseases and pests. Therefore, it is necessary to monitor the changes of climate in PA and provide long-term data support for the outbreak law of plant diseases and pests in PA.
• The lighting conditions in PA will change due to the shading effect of photovoltaic panels. The coverage rate of photovoltaic panels directly affects the plant species planted in PA. And light will impact the insects [35]. For insects active in the daytime, photovoltaic panels can prevent insects from being burned by strong light in summer and provide more suitable habitat for their reproduction. For insects active at night, insecticidal lamps with different wavelengths will attract different kinds of insects, and reasonable selection of the lamp can effectively reduce the number of beneficial insects killed [36].
• The electromagnetic environment will change due to the power generation equipment in PA. The migration of insects is influenced by the direction and intensity of the magnetic field [37], and the magnitude of the earth's magnetic field is between 30 and 60 μT, while the standard of the magnetic field intensity of electromagnetic radiation in PA is not more than 100μT [38]. Therefore, the magnetic field intensity in PA may exceed that of the earth, which will inevitably affect the growth and development, phototaxis and flight behavior, reproduction and behavior, and life span of insects, thus the pest control measures need to be adjusted accordingly [39][40][41].
• After a large number of different monitoring equipment are deployed in PA, it involves the task allocation of manual post-maintenance and data collection. How to reduce the maintenance cost by adjusting the deployment strategy is also a key issue [42] [43].
• The deployment density of different monitoring sensors is not the same, so it is necessary to take into account the monitoring requirements for different parameters, and carry out the sensor deployment strategy differently. For sensors integrated on the SIL, it is not suitable to deploy the wireless sensor network node near the metal mesh 25cm to avoid the interference of EMI generated from high voltage discharge [27].

 

4.3 Adaptive adjustment strategy of data transmission in PA

Under different weather conditions, the development of plant diseases and pests in PA is also different, and the data transmission strategy about plant diseases and pests, including the selection of transmission time and the transmission time period, also needs to be adjusted according to the current weather conditions.

The power generation efficiency is different under various weather conditions during the day, and the interference generated during the power generation will impact the process of transmitting data. High-voltage discharge will produce strong EMI, so the time period for data transmission in PA should also avoid high-voltage discharge intensive periods.

 

4.4 Special design on equipment stability in PA

In PA, equipment is prone to failure in the environment with high temperature and high humidity for a long time, which affects the stable work of equipment and reduces its service life. If the equipment can carry out fault diagnosis and self-check some problems with special design on equipment stability, it will greatly reduce the maintenance cost of the equipment [44][45][46].

In addition, improving the stability of equipment in PA will be recognized by more users, which is conducive to the popularization and application of sustainable and intelligent phytoprotection in PA.

 

4.5 New equipment and technology for forecasting pests and diseases in PA

Because the environment in PA is significantly different from that in traditional agriculture and traditional greenhouses, it is necessary to redesign the equipment for forecasting and controlling plant diseases and pests.

• The existing insect situation forecast lamp is expensive, and its function cannot meet the needs of pest monitoring in different time periods, thus its popularization and application are limited. It is necessary to develop an insect situation forecast lamp with diversified functions.
• Compared with the SILs fixedly installed in PA, the unmanned aerial vehicle insecticidal lamp is flexible and provides effective support for pest control [47][48].”

 

Added references:

32. Yang, Fan; Shu, Lei; Huang, Kai; Li, Kailiang; Han, Guangjie; Liu, Ye. A Partition-Based Node Deployment Strategy in Solar Insecticidal Lamps Internet of Things. IEEE Internet of Things Journal 2020, 7, 11223–11237.
33. Yang, Fan; Shu, Lei; Yang, Yuli; Liu, Ye; Gordon, Timothy. Improved Coverage and Connectivity via Weighted Node Deployment in Solar Insecticidal Lamp Internet of Things. IEEE Internet of Things Journal 2021, 8, 10170–10186.
34. Yang, Fan; Shu, Lei; Yang, Yuli; Han, Guangjie; Pearson, Simon; Li, Kailiang. Optimal Deployment of Solar Insecticidal Lamps over Constrained Locations in Mixed-Crop Farmlands. IEEE Internet of Things Journal 2021, 8, 13095–13114.
35. Irwin, Aisling. The dark side of light: how artificial lighting is harming the natural world. Nature 2018, 553, 268–270.
36. Yao, Heyang; Shu, Lei; Yang, Fan; Jin, Yinghao; Yang, Yuli. The phototactic rhythm of pests for the Solar Insecticidal Lamp: A review. Frontiers in Plant Science 2023. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2022.1018711
37. He, Jinglan; Wan, Guijun; Zhang, Ming; Pan, Weidong; Chen, Fajun. Progress in The Study of Giomagnetic Responses of Organisms. Progress in Biochemistry and Biophysics 2018, 45, 689–704.
38. Kenli District People’s Government. Announcement of Kenli District Branch of Dongying Ecological Environment Bureau on the approval of the environmental impact assessment documents of construction projects on April 30, 2021. Available online: http://www.kenli.gov.cn/art/2021/4/30/art_on 24 Feb 2023).
39. Zhang, Ming; Liu, Ruiying; He, Jinglan; Yuan, Rui; Wan, Guijun; Pan, Weidong; Chen, Fajun. Wing-form differentiation, phototaxis and flight performance of the brown planthopper, Nila-parvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) under near-zero magnetic fields. Acta Entomologica Sinica 2019, 62, 82–90.
40. He, Jinglan; Zhang, Ming; Liu, Ruiying; Wan, Guijun; Pan, Weidong; Chen, Fajun. Effects of the Interference of Key Magnetic Response Genes on the Longevity of Brown Planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) Under Near-Zero Magnetic Field. Scientia Agricultura Sinica 2019, 52, 45–55.
41. Wan, Guijun; Yuan, Rui; Wang, Wenjing; Fu, Kaiyun; Zhao, Jingyu; Jiang, Shoulin; Pan, Weidong; Sword, Gregory A.; Chen, Fajun. Reduced geomagnetic field may affect positive phototaxis and flight capacity of a migratory rice planthopper. Animal Behavior 2016, 121, 107–116.
42. Sun, Yuanhao; Ding, Weimin; Shu, Lei; Li, Kailiang; Zhang, Yu; Zhou, Zhangbing; Han, Guangjie. On Enabling Mobile Crowd Sensing for Data Collection in Smart Agriculture: A Vision.IEEE Systems Journal 2021, 16, 132–143.
43. Sun, Yuanhao; Nurellari, Edmond; Ding, Weimin; Shu, Lei; Huo, Zhiqiang. A Partition-Based Mobile-Crowdsensing-Enabled Task Allocation for Solar Insecticidal Lamp Internet of Things Maintenance. IEEE Internet of Things Journal 2022, 9, 20547–20560.
44. Yang, Xing; Shu, Lei; Huang, Kai; Li, Kailiang; Huo, Zhiqiang; Wang, Yanfei; Wang, Xinyi; Lu, Qiaoling; Zhang, Yacheng. Characteristics Analysis and Challenges for Fault Diagnosis in Solar Insecticidal Lamps Internet of Things.Smart Agriculture 2020, 2, 11–27.
45. Yang, Xing; Shu, Lei; Li, Kailiang; Huo, Zhiqiang; Shu, Sheng; Nurellari, Edmond. SILOS: An Intelligent Fault Detection Scheme for Solar Insecticidal Lamp IoTs with Improved Energy Efficiency. IEEE Internet of Things Journal 2022, 10, 920–939.
46. Yang, Xing; Shu, Lei; Li, Kailiang; Huo, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Yu. SA1D-CNN: A Separable and Attention Based Lightweight Sensor Fault Diagnosis Method for Solar Insecticidal Lamp Internet of Things. IEEE Open Journal of the Industrial Electronics Society 2022, 3, 291–303.
47. Huang, Kai; Shu, Lei; Li, Kailiang; Yang, Xing; Zhu, Yan; Wang, Xiaochan; Su, Qin. Design and Prospect of Anti-theft and Anti-destruction of Nodes in Solar Insecticidal Lamps Internet of Things. Smart Agriculture 2021, 3, 129–143.
48. Si, Pengju; Fu, Zhumu; Shu, Lei; Yang, Yuli; Huang, Kai; Liu, Ye. Target-Barrier Coverage Improvement in an Insecticidal Lamps Internet of UAVs. IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology 2022, 71, 4373–4382.

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf