Analysis of water efficiency, energy and economics of corn and sorghum fodder production under different irrigation conditions
Subject Areas : Crop Production Researchمسعود ترابی 1 , Mohsen Heidarisoltanabadi 2 , Rooholah Daneshvar Rad 3 , Hossein Heidari Sharifabad 4 , Reza Azizinejad 5 , Hamidreza Salemi 6
1 - استادیار پژوهش، ﺑﺨﺶ ﺗﺤﻘﯿﻘﺎت علوم زراعی و باغی، ﻣﺮﮐﺰ ﺗﺤﻘﯿﻘﺎت و آﻣﻮزش ﮐﺸﺎورزی و ﻣﻨﺎﺑﻊ ﻃﺒﯿﻌﯽ اﺳﺘﺎن اصفهان، ﺳﺎزﻣﺎن ﺗﺤﻘﯿﻘﺎت، آﻣﻮزش و ﺗﺮوﯾﺞ ﮐﺸﺎورزی، اصفهان، اﯾﺮان.
2 - Research Associate Professor of Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Isfahan, Iran.
3 - Ph.D Student, Department of Horticultural Science and Agronomy, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food Industries, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
4 - Professor of Department of Horticultural Science and Agronomy, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences and Food Industries, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
5 - Assistant Professor of department of Biotechnology and Plant breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Water and Functional foods, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
6 - Research Assistant Professor of Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Isfahan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Isfahan, Iran.
Keywords: Economic evaluation, Energy intensity, Energy ratio, Fodder yield, Pegah variety,
Abstract :
Sustainability in agricultural sector is very important and there is a growing demand for information on economic, energy and environmental dimensions in agricultural systems. Therefore, the aim of this study was to compare the water productivity, energy and production costs of corn and sorghum fodder and to compare the economic cultivation of two plants in the arid region of northwestern Isfahan. This experiment was conducted separately for each plant in the form of split plots in a randomized complete block design in three replications in Shahin Shahr, Isfahan during the years 2016 and 2017. The main plots included three levels of full irrigation, 80% and 60% full irrigation, and subplots included two varieties of sorghum, Speedfed and Pegah, and corn 704 and Maxima. The results showed that the highest input energy consumed in the production of both plants with an average of 14130 Mj.ha-1 is related to nitrogen fertilizer. Among the investigated cultivars, the Pegah variety had the highest energy ratio (23%), fodder energy efficiency (0.38 kg.MJ-1) and fodder water efficiency (6.4 kg.m-3). The results also indicated an increase in the fixed and variable costs of corn production compared to sorghum. In general, compared to corn, sorghum production in the region requires less water and energy, lower production cost along with more fodder production and less environmental damage, and Pegah variety is introduced as a more suitable variety for fodder production in the region.