Text 1
For thousands of years, O’odham farmers in the Sonoran desert of the southwestern US and northern Mexico have cultivated mesquite seeds and agave sap, sometimes planting these species together so that the mesquite trees provide shade for agaves. Doing so helps protect agaves from the harshest heat and light and thereby helps prevent soil moisture from evaporating.
Text 2
Agaves are well adapted to growing in the desert but grow best when shaded. Inspired by O’odham farmers, who often strategically plant agaves in the shade of sun-hardy species like mesquite trees for protection from the sun and heat, Gary Nabhan and colleagues planted agaves in the shade of solar panels in the Sonoran desert and found that the plants grew well, suggesting to Nabhan and colleagues that the panels provide a benefit similar to that provided by mesquite trees.
For thousands of years, O’odham farmers in the Sonoran desert of the southwestern US and northern Mexico have cultivated mesquite seeds and agave sap, sometimes planting these species together so that the mesquite trees provide shade for agaves. Doing so helps protect agaves from the harshest heat and light and thereby helps prevent soil moisture from evaporating.
Text 2
Agaves are well adapted to growing in the desert but grow best when shaded. Inspired by O’odham farmers, who often strategically plant agaves in the shade of sun-hardy species like mesquite trees for protection from the sun and heat, Gary Nabhan and colleagues planted agaves in the shade of solar panels in the Sonoran desert and found that the plants grew well, suggesting to Nabhan and colleagues that the panels provide a benefit similar to that provided by mesquite trees.