No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

the total energy input (tEI) of irrigated wheat in Fars province, Iran, was estimated at 901 liter diesel oil equivalent per hectare (LDOE ha-1) (423 LDOE or 4819 Mcal, (47%) and 478.14 LDOE or 5454 Mcal, (53%) for wheat production and post production, respectively. the tEI for 1 ton wheat was estimated at 200 LDOE and for 1 ton of bread at 181 LDOE (wheat bread at 28% moisture). the direct use of fossil fuel oil in land preparation, planting, harvesting and transportation was estimated at 106 LDOE ha-1. the applications of fertilizer and pesticide contributed about 40% of the total energy bill in production while it was larger in baking the bread at 72.3 LDOE ton-1 or 75% of the energy costs of post production. At 4515 kg ha-1 average yield of irrigated wheat in Fars province, Iran, the energy output was estimated at 15848 Mcal for raw wheat, 13409.55 Mcal for bread and 2895 Mcal for straw. the energy balance for raw wheat production (field level) was estimated at 3.3. Post- production (baking bread) consumed a lot of energy. the estimated energy balance was 1.3. Measures on how to reduce the energy bill for wheat production and for post-production (baking bread) are discussed.

Energy analysis is not usually given much emphasis in crop production despite the latter's huge dependence on oil and fuel. This study was conducted for two cropping seasons to assess whether the use of various nutrient sources can increase yield, energy productivity, and use efficiency of lowland rice (PSB Rc18). All production inputs and activities were accounted and energy analysis was done using energy coefficients adopted by previous researchers. Parameters on grain yield, energy expenditures, energy productivity, efficiency, and intensity were taken. Rice applied with organic fertilizer from unenhanced composted cow manure (UECM) yielded significantly higher by 61% and 18 % than the untreated control and the full inorganic treatment, respectively. Quantum and organic nutrient sources spent 69.18-71.79 liter diesel oil equivalent (LDOE) ha which is 2-3 times -1 lesser than the use of sole inorganic or combined with organic nutrient sources (142.13-225.74 LDOE ha ), thus giving significantly higher energy productivity -1 and efficiency. Unenhanced composted cow manure was the most productive and efficient in terms of energy use by 1.59 and 3.73 times over the control and full inorganic treatment, respectively. Energy spent to produce a ton of unmilled rice was markedly reduced by 53% from organic fertilization due to lower energy intensities (15.95-25.16 LDOE t grain) than inorganic treatments (36.50-60.89 -1 LDOE t grain). Hence, at this time of energy crisis and climate change, organic -1 farming which includes use of quantum enhancers is a potential option in improving energy resource effectiveness of PSB Rc18.

The general objective was to determine the existing farming systems and formulate and test options to improve farmers' incomes in salt-affected Barangay Sua, Masantol, Pampanga, Philippines near Manila Bay. The following were conducted: (1) exploratory and formal surveys; (2) monitoring, measurement and characterization of water and salinity at the Pampanga River and their consequent effects on existing farming systems; (3) on-farm trial and evaluation of management options, i.e., the researchers' staggered rice transplanting dates and cultivars, and the farmers' rice-fish integration; and (4) interviews and focused-group discussions with farmers. The rice cultivars were PSB Rc 32 (Jaro), PSB Rc 34 (Burdagol) and PSB Rc 48 (Hagonoy). The senior author resided in the study site for a total of 10 months from November 1997 to January 2000, during which time the El Niño and La Niña phenomena occurred. Flooding and salinity were the two main constraints identified by the farmers that resulted in associated interrelated problems of low crop intensity, low productivity and yield, high risk of failure, seasonal availability of employment and high cost of production.Please note that this electronic prepublication galley may contain typographical errors and may be missing artwork, such as charts, photographs, etc. Pagination in this version will differ from the published version.

Organic agriculture, which is also described as less fossil fuel-dependent and agrochemical-free agriculture, is now perceived as the logical sequence to the food production systems which are dependent on agro-chemical inputs from production to processing. This paper discusses the situations and factors that should be considered in the crucial process of shifting approaches to food production systems to achieve food security in the new millennium. In the past, farmers shifted with government support to chemical agriculture to produce the food requirements of the burgeoning population. Soils are badly degraded from the use of chemical fertilizer and pest populations are so complex and crop failures associated with no application of pesticides are widely known. Withdrawal from agrochemical use will mean huge yield reduction without soil fertility restoration and any further yield decline is unacceptable both to the farmers and the consumers. The shift to organic agriculture requires soil fertility restoration, breeding/selection of seeds for organic agriculture, adoption of cultural management practices and shifting monocropping to diverse planting, integrated nutrient management and ecological pest management systems, among others. Farmers need full government support to shift to organic agriculture. Moreover, the society or the consumers need to realize that the shift to organic agriculture is for their own benefit, hence, they need to appreciate, understand, cooperate, patronize and put premium value to organic agriculture products. The superior quality of organic products should be appreciated and should be translated to higher price. Organic agriculture production should be complemented with a change in consumer preferences or consumption patterns. It should be translated into a demand that will lead to changes in the supply side thereby changing the agricultural production systems that our Filipino farmers currently adopt.