Energy Productivity and Efficiency of Lowland Rice (Var. PSB Rc18) Under Various Organic Nutrient Sources and Quantum Enhancers

Abstract

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.

Energy Inputs of Selected Agroforestry Systems in Zamboanga City, Philippines

“…Energy inputs on logistics would also increase the price of food delivered in the local markets of Zamboanga City, more so if they are transported far [26]. In the Philippines, the sugar production is an intensive energy-requiring process [29], including inorganic rice production [2,18,26], wheat production [3] and high valued crops [5]. These observations are also true with the nine ( 9) identified dominant AFSs in the uplands of Zamboanga City, where major agricultural crops such as coconut, rubber, banana, upland rice, lanzones and marang (seasonal crops) grown in combination and/or as an inter-crop were becoming energy intensive systems.…”

“…The science of energy accounting in food agriculture has been used as early as 1973 [5] and it has continue to evolved [7,[12][13][14][15][16][17]. In recent years, energy accounting has been used for sugarcane production [2,4,18], rice and cotton [2], wheat [3] and lowland rice [19]. Food sources derived from agroforestry systems (AFSs) such as fruits and annuals as intercrops are sources of caloric energy but to produce such energy also requires enormous energy in the form of machineries, farm implements, equipment, farm tools, various inputs like seeds, fertilizers and chemical pesticides, trucks and other form of logistics used for hauling and transport including labor that are derived from human and draft animal.…”

Energy Auditing of Cape Gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) Production with Agronomic Manipulations in Sodic Soils of Indo-gangetic Plains

“…Evidence suggests that efficient and effective energy use is required for financial savings, fossil resource preservation [32], reduced greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural production systems and energyrelated environmental pollution [33,34], improved agricultural production [31,34,35] and ultimately positive contribution to sustainable development [33,36]. Limited study on energy budgeting in agricultural production systems has been conducted in a few countries, with the majority of studies focusing on cereal crops and cropping system research [37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50]. A few studies from India have also been reported, revealing that the energy consumption pattern varied greatly with agro-climatic zones and energy sources with farmers to engage in agricultural business [51][52][53][54][55][56].…”