Which crop production system is more efficient in energy use: wheat or barley?

Abstract

Efficient use of energy helps to achieve increased production and productivity and contributes to the economy, profitability, and competitiveness of agricultural sustainability of rural communities. Evaluation of wheat and barley production systems in view of energy balance was conducted in Khorasan Razavi Province, Iran. Data were collected by using a face-to-face questionnaire from wheat and barley fields in 2011. Results revealed that total energy input for wheat was 51,040 MJ ha−1 and for barley 44,866; in wheat and barley systems, renewable energy was consumed by 25.43 and 23.53 %, while non-renewable energy was consumed by 74.57 and 76.47 %, respectively. Energy use efficiency, energy productivity, and net energy were 1.7 kg MJ−1, 0.088 kg MJ−1, and 35,987 MJ ha−1 in wheat system and 1.83 kg MJ−1, 0.092 kg MJ−1, and 33,833 MJ ha−1 in barley system, respectively. Energy intensiveness in wheat fields (61.84 MJ $−1) was higher than in barley fields (58.71 MJ $−1). Also, benefit-to-cost ratio in wheat system (1.59) was higher than in barley system (1.35). In general, production in barley fields was more sustainable than wheat production because, in view of ecological indices such as amount of energy use and renewable energy consumption, it was more environment-friendly production.