Energy requirements for sugar beet production in Iran: A case study in Qazvin province

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Abstract

Estimating the energy required to produce a crop is an important indicator in analyzing and evaluating agricultural sustainability. The purpose of this study was to investigate the energy use of strategic sugar beet crop in Qazvin provinces of Iran. In this study, data were collected from growers using a face-to-face questionnaire to calculate the consumption inputs (such as irrigation water, fuel consumption, seeds, manpower, electricity, machinery, fertilizers and pesticides) for different seedbed preparation, planting and harvesting operations. The results showed that the average input energy of sugar beet was 52055 MJ ha -1 and the average output energy was 532135 MJ ha -1. In sugar beet production, the highest and lowest energy inputs belonged to chemical fertilizer with 27.7% and seed with 0.2% of total input energy, respectively. The energy use efficiency of sugar beet was 105/102. Also energy efficiency of sugar beet was calculated 0.61 kg MJ -1, net energy use of sugar beet was 480080 MJ ha -1and the energy intensity of sugar beet was 1.64 MJ kg-1.