Transplanting the specialty crops at RAREC in southern New Jersey

On June 10, 2024 the first specialty crops (eggplant, pepper, tomato) were transplanted at the RAREC Agrivoltaic (AV) research site near Bridgton, New Jersey. Each AV block (double panel, single panel, or no panel) contains 10 raised beds (55 ft long) that were established between three rows of AV panels spaced 34 ft apart which are 74 ft long. The southern most area of each block (~15 ft) were not used in the study because of additional exposure to the sun on the southern most end of each block. Three reps per bed with a plot size of 15 ft in length with a 5 ft break between plots were marked before transplanting either Sicilian eggplant ‘Palermo’, bell pepper ‘Turnpike’, or fresh-market tomato ‘Red Deuce’. Fifteen transplants were set in each plot on-center in the white-on-black plastic mulch in a single row with 12″ between plants over two days using a water wheel transplanter. Two additional plants were transplanted at the end of each plot to fill in the breaks.

‘Red Deuce’ tomato transplants being set in the row next to the double AV panel. These transplants were set in the afternoon on 12 June after the AV panels were already facing west at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC) near Bridgeton, New Jersey.

Transplanting being done in the control block (no panels) at the Rutgers Agricultural Research and Extension Center (RAREC) near Bridgeton, New Jersey.

As with both the ground work and bed formation, transplanting was accomplished based on the position of the panels during the day to allow for the tractor to clear beneath the AV panels. In a few cases, the soil which was saturated by the rain from the AV panel run-off in the few days previous remained wet during transplanting and caused the tractor to slip resulting in crooked rows.

Transplanting being done in the single AV panel block at RAREC. Note the crooked row of transplants in the mulch row next to the single AV panel. Rainfall caused the soil to remain wet due run-off from the panels which caused the tractor to slip back and forth during the transplanting process.

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