A greenhouse containing an integrated system of photovoltaic panels, a water electrolyzer, fuel cells and a geothermal heat pump was set up to investigate suitable solutions for a power system based on solar energy and hydrogen, feeding a self-sufficient, geothermal-heated greenhouse. The electricity produced by the photovoltaic source supplies the electrolyzer; the manufactured hydrogen gas is held in a pressure tank. In these systems, the electrolyzer is a crucial component; the technical challenge is to make it work regularly despite the irregularity of the solar source. The focus of this paper is to study the performance and the real energy efficiency of the electrolyzer, analyzing its operational data collected under different operating conditions affected by the changeable solar radiant energy characterizing the site where the experimental plant was located. The analysis of the measured values allowed evaluation of its suitability for the agricultural requirements such as greenhouse heating. On the strength of the obtained result, a new layout of the battery bank has been designed and exemplified to improve the performance of the electrolyzer. The evaluations resulting from this case study may have a genuine value, therefore assisting in further studies to better understand these devices and their associated technologies.

A comparison of three different methods to evaluate the tree row volume (TRV) of a super-high-density olive orchard is presented in this article. The purpose was to validate the suitability of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry and 3D modeling techniques with respect to manual and traditional methods of TRV detection. The use of UAV photogrammetry can reduce the amount of estimated biomass and, therefore, reduce the volume of pesticides to be used in the field by means of more accurate prescription maps. The presented comparison of methodologies was performed on an adult super-high-density olive orchard, planted with a density of 1660 trees per hectare. The first method (TRV₁) was based on close-range photogrammetry from UAVs, the second (TRV₂) was based on manual in situ measurements, and the third (TRV₃) was based on a formula from the literature. The comparisons of TRV₂-TRV₁ and TRV₃-TRV₁ showed an average value of the difference equal to +13% (max: +65%; min: −11%) and +24% (max: +58%; min: +5%), respectively. The results show that the TRV₁ method has high accuracy in predicting TRV with minor working time expenditure, and the only limitation is that professionally skilled personnel is required.

Nowadays, the traditional energy sources used for greenhouse heating are fossil fuels such as LPG, diesel and natural gas. The global energy demand will continue to grow and alternative technologies need to be developed in order to improve the sustainability of crop production in protected environments. Innovative solutions are represented by renewable energy plants such as photovoltaic, wind and geothermal integrated systems, however, these technologies need to be connected to the power grid in order to store the energy produced. On agricultural land, power grids are not widespread and stand-alone renewable energy systems should be investigated especially for greenhouse applications. The aim of this research is to analyze, by means of a mathematical model, the energy efficiency of a photovoltaic (8.2 kW), hydrogen (2.5 kW) and ground source gas heat pump (2.2 kW) integrated in a stand-alone system used for heating an experimental greenhouse tunnel (48 m²) during the winter season. A yearlong energy performance analysis was conducted for three different types of greenhouse cover materials, a single layer polyethylene film, an air inflated-double layer polyethylene film, and a double acrylic or polycarbonate. The results of one year showed that the integrated system had a total energy efficiency of 14.6%. Starting from the electric energy supplied by the photovoltaic array, the total efficiency of the hydrogen and ground source gas heat pump system was 112% if the coefficient of the performance of the heat pump is equal to 5. The heating system increased the greenhouse air temperatures by 3–9 °C with respect to the external air temperatures, depending on the greenhouse cover material used.

The employment of bales is of considerable interest in the agricultural sector due to the mechanization of the production chain, the ease of their manipulation and transport, the low requirements for, and flexibility of, their storage and the low manpower requirements. Forage bales are mainly employed in zootechny, which albeit with important changes, is today still an essential economic sector for our society. The optimization of results in the zootechnical field depends largely on the feeding of the animals; in this regard, fodder-crops play a fundamental role in the European agricultural and economic sector. The soil inside the fodder is often the vehicle for a large number of CFUs (colony forming units) of bacteria of the Clostridium genus, with consequent repercussions for the welfare of the cows as well as for the quality of the milk products. The purpose of this work was to assess the performance of the large square baler HD 1270, made by the Italian manufacturer “Cicoria Square Bales”, whose main characteristic is the high cleanliness level of the dried fodder. The experimental tests carried out seem to confirm the efficacy of the technical solutions adopted for this machine. However, in order to better understand the reliability of the machine in lowering the amount of impurities and soil present in the built square bales, further tests in different working conditions should be carried out in order to statistically evaluate the influence and the mutual interaction of the operating parameters.