Abstract
A goal in sustainable agriculture is to use fossil energy more efficiently in crop production. This 60-year-old experiment on a silt loam chernozem investigated effects of fertilization (unfertilized control, mineral fertilizer (NPK) and farmyard manure (FYM)) and rotation (continuous winter rye (CR), winter rye in rotation (RR), spring barley in rotation (SB) on diesel fuel consumption, total energy input (made of both direct and indirect inputs), crop yield, energy output, net-energy output, energy intensity, energy productivity and energy use efficiency. The input rates of fertilizer, herbicides and seeds were set constant during the experiment. Soil tillage was done with a moldboard plough with subsequent combined seedbed preparation and seeding. The mean calculated total energy input was highest in NPK with 11.28 GJ ha−1 and lowest in the unfertilized control with 5.00 GJ ha−1. Total energy input for FYM was intermediate with 6.30 GJ ha−1. With energetic consideration of NPK nutrients in FYM the total energy input increased to the level of NPK. The share of the fertilizer energy on the total energy input was 49% for NPK. Fertilization with FYM and NPK increased yield and energy output considerably, especially of CR and SB which attained about doubled values. Crop rotation also increased the yield and energy output, especially of unfertilized rye, which attained values increased by about 75%. Fertilization with FYM resulted in the highest energy efficiency as the net-energy output, the energy productivity and the energy use efficiency were higher but the energy intensity was lower compared to unfertilized controls and NPK. When the nutrients in FYM were also energetically considered, the energy efficiency parameters of FYM decreased to the level of the NPK treatment. Crop rotation increased the energy efficiency of winter rye compared to the monoculture.
Highlights
Steineck and Ruckenbauer [1] reported for the long-term experiment in
Groß-Enzersdorf, that continuous rye cropping led to yield depressions, which could not be compensated by fertilization with NPK or farmyard manure (FYM)
The consumption was highest with FYM and lowest in the unfertilized control over all crops (Table 5)
Summary
The use of mineral fertilizers (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), (NPK), for plant cultivation and production stimulated both a new industry for the production of fertilizers and research in the 19th century [1]. Long-term field experiments were established, e.g., in Rothamsted (UK), Halle (Germany) and in Groß-Enzersdorf (Austria), to assess the long-term effects of cultivation techniques like fertilization and crop rotation. Steineck and Ruckenbauer [1] reported for the long-term experiment in. Groß-Enzersdorf, that continuous rye cropping led to yield depressions, which could not be compensated by fertilization with NPK or farmyard manure (FYM). The fertilization effect on grain yield was found to be greater in spring barley than in winter rye.
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