Energy Efficiency of Maize Production Technology: Evidence from Polish Farms

Anita Konieczna,Monika Roman,Michał Roman,Kamil Roman,Damian Śliwiński

doi:10.3390/en14010170

Anita Konieczna, Monika Roman + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/en14010170

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Abstract

The purpose of this work is to determine the impact of selected silage maize cultivation technologies, including energy inputs in the production chain (cultivation, harvesting, heap placing), on energy efficiency. The analysis of energy inputs, energy efficiency for the silage maize production technology were estimated. The research was performed for 13 farms producing silage maize. The data from the farms covered all the activities and the agrotechnical measures performed. The calculations of energy inputs made for the silage maize production for selected technologies were performed using the method developed by the Institute of Construction, Mechanization and Electrification for Agriculture (IBMER), once the method was verified and adapted to the needs and conditions of own research. Based on the accumulated energy production and the energy accumulated in the yield, energy efficiency index values for 13 silage maize cultivation technologies were calculated. The greatest impact on the results of energy efficiency calculations was shared by fertilizer and fuel inputs. In conclusion, it can be stated that, in terms of energy efficiency, maize cultivation is justified and it can generate energy benefits.

Highlights

Crop cultivation is of special importance for covering the demand for consumption and animal feed and, to a growing extent, for energy [1]
In energy inputs resulting from the consumption of traditional energy carriers (ON) in the the technologies applied
There are undergoing analyses about the possibility of sustainability development use and the reduction of energy inputs to reduce the negative impact on the environment, water, soil, air

Summary

Introduction

Crop cultivation is of special importance for covering the demand for consumption and animal feed and, to a growing extent, for energy [1]. The rapid changes in the conditions of the agro-systems environment and the growing demand for new, more effective technologies require the simultaneous contribution of knowledge in the field of food production, and in the field of the quality of newly created products, their marketing and maintaining the ethical principles of their acquisition, processing and distribution. It is about the links between the humanities, technical, and agronomic sciences, creating an interdisciplinary consilium of experts on the transformation of agro-systems

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