Energy use in wheat production in Kordkoy region as influenced by seed-bed preparation and sowing methods

The increasing needs for energy, its high price and its environmental impact on greenhouse gases emission and limited energy resources due to increased research on energy balance in crop production systems. The objective of this research was to compare seedbed preparation and sowing methods in wheat production in Kordkoy region with respect to energy use and efficiency. Fifteen wheat fields were selected in the region in five sites. The fields were classified into three groups with included to seedbed preparation and sowing methods, i.e. centrifuge, drill and Combination Cultivator. All fields were rainfed. The results indicated that using Combination Cultivator method led to 35% and 33% reduction in energy use in seedbed preparation and sowing compared to centrifuge and drill methods, respectively. In terms of energy required for production operations, the method resulted in 22% reduction in energy use compared to centrifuge and drill methods. Using Combination Cultivator also led to 11% and 9% less energy use as seed compared to centrifuge and drill methods, respectively. Energy output to input ratio was 7.41 for Combination Cultivator method which was higher than centrifuge (4.07) and drill (6.15) methods. Using Combination Cultivator also resulted in higher energy yield than other two methods. It was concluded that using (expanding) Combination Cultivator method is effective in energy saving and improving its utilization.