Comparison of fuel consumption in broccoli production

Abstract

Broccoli is a highly valued vegetable for its high content of vitamins and health-promoting substances. The heads weight up to 0.7 kilograms and can grow to a diameter of 0.25 meters. Broccoli is a plant that is very demanding on moisture, so it cannot do without irrigation in the dry season. Growing vegetables is generally very labour intensive, but many operations in growing broccoli can already be automated. With broccoli, automation can be used in work operations such as planting and harvesting. This article presents the results of a field experiment comparing the fuel consumption of growing broccoli throughout the entire growing season. The field trial took place in the Czech Republic near the city of Hradec Králové in the 2021 season. Fuel consumption measurements were made at the plot where the stand was established at the beginning of the growing season and at the plot that was planted last. Fuel consumption was measured for each growing operation that was carried out on the plot. The distance of both plots from the farm was similar. The resulting amount of fuel consumed per one hectare of planted area was calculated by dividing the total fuel consumption for a certain cultivation operation by the planted area. Fuel consumption per one hectare of planted area is based on this calculation. The most fuel-intensive growing operation was harvesting broccoli. Harvesting broccoli consumed 35% of the total fuel consumption per hectare. The total fuel consumption for plot 1 was 216.1 litres per hectare, for plot 2 the total consumption was 199.4 litres per hectare. Individual work operations were compared with the norms and did not show statistically significant differences, except for soil preparation with a rotary tiller, where the value is twice as much as the norms.