Hort. Sci. (Prague), 2023, 50(3):219-232 | DOI: 10.17221/155/2022-HORTSCI

Optimising energy efficiency and ecological ‎footprint of off-season cucumber production agro-ecosystem upon different farm levels (Case of central Iran)Original Paper

Bardia Bayat1, Mohammad Hossein Ansari2, Marjan Diyanat3, Ali Mohammadi ‎Torkashvand3
1 Department of Agronomy and Horticultural Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Agronomy, Islamic Azad ‎University, Rasht, Iran
3 Department of Agronomy and Horticultural Science, Science and Research Branch, Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran

The present study aimed to use a non-parametric data envelopment analysis (DEA) to estimate the energy efficiency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in off-season cucumber-producing greenhouses in different farm level management systems in Iran. Data were collected using a questionnaire completed by 83 cucumber producers through face-to-face interviews. The results showed that the energy use rate was 75.1%, 82.6%, and 86.2% in small (0.5–0.9 ha), medium (0.9–2 ha), and large farms (≥ 2 ha), respectively. In all the farm levels, the greatest energy use shares belonged to electricity, chemical fertilisers, and human labour, respectively. The results of the DEA revealed that the technical, pure technical, and scale efficiencies of the large farms were 87.3%, 92.8%, and 97.1%, respectively, which were higher compared to other farm level management systems. The ratio of energy savings was estimated at 5.62% and 2.97% for small and large farms, respectively. The results also showed that electricity, chemical fertilisers, and diesel fuel were the most responsible for the GHG emissions. By optimising the energy use, pollution per one/ha one of off-season cucumbers can be mitigated by 1 614.5 and 1 315.0 kg of CO2/ha in small and large greenhouses; indicating more attention is required in managing the energy inputs in small-sized agro-ecosystems, especially for electricity.

Keywords: CO2 consumption, emission; cucumber; energy-saving; envelopment analysis; greenhouse gas

Accepted: May 18, 2023; Published: September 29, 2023  Show citation

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Bayat B, Ansari MH, Diyanat M, ‎Torkashvand AM. Optimising energy efficiency and ecological ‎footprint of off-season cucumber production agro-ecosystem upon different farm levels (Case of central Iran). Hort. Sci. (Prague). 2023;50(3):219-232. doi: 10.17221/155/2022-HORTSCI.
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