Energy budgeting and economics of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) cultivation under different sowing methods in north-western India

Abstract

Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) is a hunger breaking energy rich crop. We compared tuber growth and size attributes, energy and economic indices of potato cultivation on ridges (single row) and beds (two and three rows) in north-western India. Three rows method significantly (p < 0.05) increased the number of stems (∼19.1%) and tubers (∼18.2%), 10-tuber weight (∼6.7%) and tuber yield (∼39.7%) than single row method. Water productivity was significantly higher (∼10.4–23.7%) for two rows than other methods. Total energy input (EI) of 56,985 ± 500 MJ ha−1, 54,522 ± 339 MJ ha−1 and 56,019 ± 458 MJ ha−1 for three, two and single row method produced total output energy of 151.8 ± 3.9, 132.5 ± 4.7 and 108.7 GJ ha−1, respectively. Chemical fertilizers comprised ∼26.6–29.5%, seed ∼21.3–25.3%, electricity ∼18.0–20.1% and water ∼8.7–9.5% of EI. Direct energy comprised 66.3–69.2%, while indirect energy 30.8–33.7% of EI. Specific energy was significantly lower (∼9.2–27.7%), while energy ratio was higher (∼9.9–37.6%) for three rows method. Net energy gain of 50.7 ± 2.7 GJ ha−1, 76.1 ± 5.9 GJ ha−1 and 97.4 ± 4.1 GJ ha−1 was achieved with single, two and three rows methods, respectively. Average net returns for three rows method were higher by ∼19.1 and 61.1%, while net economic benefit by ∼15.9 and 41.1%, respectively over two and single row method.