A review on global energy use patterns in major crop production systems

Abstract

This study presents the energy assessment of 49 different crops in India, Bangladesh, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Iran, Turkey, Australia, Nigeria and Thailand. According to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), these crops were selected from the Indicative Crop Classification (ICC) i.e. cereals, vegetables, fruits, oilseeds, legumes/pulses, fiber and tobacco. The data regarding energy consumption of these crops were collected from articles published between 2001 and 2021. The amounts of energy utilized in diversified crop operations such as tillage, sowing, interculture, fertilization, irrigation, chemical applications, harvesting, threshing and transportation have been discussed. The energy input in terms of direct (manual and animal energy and fuel/diesel) and indirect (fertilizers, pesticides, machinery and seed energy) energy sources for various cropping systems is presented here. Various researchers have extensively examined different operations or sources utilizing more than recommended energy worldwide. In several countries, farmers are in practice utilizing more fertilizers and pesticides than their permitted levels. The energy consumption pattern in wheat production showed Turkey (35 737 MJ ha⁻¹) to be the highest user and Australia (10 900 MJ ha⁻¹) to be the lowest energy user. In rice production, Iran (64 158 MJ ha⁻¹) applied substantially higher while the Philippines applied (12 800 MJ ha⁻¹) slightly lower energy in contrast to other countries, whereas, in millet production, India (7000 MJ ha⁻¹) was the highest and Nigeria (3283 MJ ha⁻¹) was the lowest energy consumer. However, in overall crop production, sugarcane was the highest energy utilizing crop (148 020 MJ ha⁻¹), while wheat (259 000 MJ ha⁻¹) was the highest energy-generating crop. The energy ratio, specific energy and energy productivity of various crops varied between 0.76–29.4, 0.15–26.73 MJ kg⁻¹ and 0.04–6.67 kg MJ⁻¹, respectively.