Energetics, GHG emissions and economics in nitrogen management practices under potato cultivation: a farm-level study

Abstract

The multifarious relationships between nitrogen application, energy consumption and GHG emissions are still not well understood in irrigated potato production system. There is a need to ensure that N and energy use are closely considered to provide useful options for adaptation and to build resilience at the farm level. A field experiment was conducted during the winter (November–March) of 2012–2013 and 2013–2014 at the District Seed Farm, Adisaptagram, Hooghly, West Bengal, India (23°26′N latitude and 88°22′E longitude with an altitude of 12 m above mean sea level), under sub-humid subtropical climatic condition of West Bengal, India. The objective of the study was to assess environmental and economic sustainability in potato cultivation as influenced by nitrogen fertilization. This paper examines nitrogen application and energy consumption relationships for irrigated potato production system in eastern India. Results showed that net energy gain was the highest with the supply of 225 kg N/ha for both Kufri Himalini and Kufri Jyoti and 150 kg N/ha for Kufri Shailja. However, maximum values of energy ratio, specific energy and energy intensiveness were recorded with 300 kg N/ha for all three tested cultivars. Total estimated GHG emission per ha increased with the increase in N level from 0 to 300 kg N/ha, regardless of cultivars. Net benefit of potato cultivation was observed to increase with increasing levels of N application up to 300 kg N/ha (for K. Himalini) and up to 225 kg N/ha (for K. Shailja and K. Jyoti). The highest GRF for K. Himalini was observed at 300 kg N/ha, while for K. Shailja and K. Jyoti the maximum GRF was associated with 150 and 250 kg N application per hectare, respectively.

Keywords

Potato / Energy budget / GHG emission / Economic assessment

References

[1] Alam MS, Alam MR, Islam KK. Energy flow in agriculture: Bangladesh. Am J Environ Sci, 2005, 1: 213-220

[2] Alva A. Potato nitrogen management. J Veg Crop Prod, 2004, 10(1): 97-130

[3] Baishya LK, Kumar M, Ghosh M, Ghosh DC. Effect of integrated nutrient management on growth, productivity and economics of rainfed potato in Meghalaya hills. Int J Agric Environ Biotechnol, 2013, 6(1): 69-77

[4] Banaeian N, Zangeneh M. Estimating production function of walnut production in Iran using Cobb-Douglas method. Agricultura Tropica et Subtropica, 2011, 44: 177-189

[5] Banerjee H, Ray K, Sarkar S, Puste AM, Mozumder M, Rana L. Impact of nitrogen nutrition on productivity and nutrient use efficiency of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) in an inceptisol of West Bengal, India. SAARC J Agric, 2015, 13(2): 141-150

[6] Banerjee H, Rana L, Ray K, Sarkar S, Bhattacharyya K, Dutta S. Differential physiological response in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) upon exposure to nutrient omissions. Indian J Plant Physiol, 2016, 21(2): 129-136

[7] Billore SD, Singh K, Singh AP, Bargale M. Energy productivity of sorghum-wheat sequence through long-term use of chemical fertilizers. Indian J Agron, 1994, 39(2): 198-202

[8] Devasenapathy P, Senthilkumar G, Shanmugam PM. Energy management in crop production. Indian J Agron, 2009, 54: 80-90

[9] Dyer JA, Desjardins RL (2003) Simulated farm fieldwork, energy consumption and related greenhouse gas emissions in Canada. Biosyst Eng 85(4):503–513

[10] Dyer JA, Desjardins RL. Carbon dioxide emissions associated with the manufacturing of tractors and farm machinery in Canada. Biosyst Eng, 2006, 93: 107-118

[11] Ganajaxi HSI, Hiremath SM, Chittapur BM. Productivity, profitability and energy use efficiency of different cropping sequences in northern transition zone of Karnataka. Indian J Agric Sci, 2011, 81(10): 921-926

[12] Gezer I, Acaroglu M, Haciseferogullari H. Use of energy and labour in apricot agriculture in Turkey. Biomass Bioenergy, 2003, 24: 215-219

[13] Ghahderijani M, Komleh SHP, Keyhani A, Sefeedpari P. Energy analysis and life cycle assessment of wheat production in Iran. Afr J Agric Res, 2013, 8: 1929-1939

[14] Gupta M, Bali A, Sharma S, Dixit AK. Potential role and influence of zero tillage technology on energy saving in rice (Oryza sativa L.)-wheat (Triticum aestivum) system. Indian J Agric Sci, 2007, 77(10): 657-659

[15] Jackson TM, Hanjra MA, Khan S, Hafeez MM. Building a climate resilient farm: a risk based approach for understanding water, energy and emissions in irrigated agriculture. Agric Syst, 2011, 104: 729-745

[16] Kumar P, Pandey SK, Singh BP, Singh SV, Kumar D. Effect of nitrogen rate on growth, yield, economics and crisps quality of Indian potato processing cultivars. Potato Res, 2007, 50(2): 143-155

[17] Lal R. Carbon emissions from farm operations. Environ Int, 2004, 30: 981-990

[18] Love SL, Stark JC, Salaiz T. Response of four potato cultivars to rate and timing of nitrogen fertilizer. Am J Potato Res, 2005, 82: 21-30

[19] Mandal KG, Saha KP, Ghosh PK, Hatik M, Bandyopadhyay KK. Bio-energy and economic analysis of soybean-based crop production systems in central India. Biomass Bioenergy, 2002, 23: 337-345

[20] Mittal VK, Mittal JP, Dhawan KC (1985). Research digest on energy requirements in agricultural sector. Co-ordinating cell, AICRP on energy requirements in agricultural sector. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, India, p 42

[21] Mozumder M, Banerjee H, Ray K, Paul T. Evaluation of potato (Solanum tuberosum) cultivars for productivity, N requirement and eco-friendly indices under different nitrogen levels. Indian J Agron, 2014, 59(2): 327-335

[22] Pathak H, Wassman R. Introducing greenhouse gas mitigation as a development objective in rice-based agriculture: I. generation of technical coefficients. Agric Syst, 2007, 94: 807-825

[23] Sadorsky P. Modeling and forecasting petroleum futures volatility. Energy Econ, 2006, 28: 467-488

[24] Singh H, Mishra D, Nahar NM, Ranjan M. Energy use pattern in production agriculture of a typical village in arid zone India: part II. Energy Convers Manag, 2003, 44: 1053-1067

[25] Tzanakakis VA, Chatzakis MK, Angelakis AN. Energetic environmental and economic assessment of three tree species and one herbaceous crop irrigated with primary treated sewage effluent. Biomass Bio-energy, 2012, 47: 115-124

[26] Wood S, Cowie A (2013) A review of greenhouse gas emission factors for fertilizer production, pp. 1–20. www.ieabioenergy-task38.org. Accessed: 22 May 2015