Energy efficiency and water use indices for sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas L.) production under subtropical climatic conditions of Bangladesh

Abstract

For estimation of energy use efficiency for sweet potato production in the riverbank areas of Bangladesh under subtropical climatic conditions, a study was conducted with sweet potato producers of the respective areas from 60 individuals (12 producers' for each sweet potato variety) by using a structural questionnaire. The results revealed that the majority of the energy input was consumed by the pre-harvest activities (22,313.55 MJ ha−1 or 90.85%), of which fertilizer application (36.84%) and irrigation (35.24%) consumed the most energy input, whereas only 9.15% (2,248.42 MJ ha−1) consumed by the post-harvest activity for sweet potato production. The energy input involved in the production system was similar to the direct (12,149.76 MJ ha−1 or 49.47%) and indirect (12,412.21 MJ ha−1 or 50.53%) sources, while it was much higher in non-renewable sources (22,884.21 MJ ha−1 or 93.17%) with a minimum of (1,677.76 MJ ha−1 or 6.83%) from renewable sources. The average energy use efficiency, energy productivity, specific energy, net energy, energy profitability and water-energy productivity of orange-fleshed sweet potato (OFSP) varieties 4.36, 1.22 kg MJ−1, 0.83 MJ kg−1, 82,511.73 MJ ha−1, 3.36 and 1.32 g m−3 MJ−1, respectively. The OFSP varieties showed better performance in respect of all the energy and water use indicators.

Genotype-by-environment interactions (GEIs) and evaluate superior sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas [L.] Lam) using combined analysis and GGE biplot

“…Sweet potato generally needs adequate water during the growing cycle [ 45 ]. Management of water supply has an impact on optimal sweet potato yields [ 46 ]. In this study, all three environments had sufficient average rainfall for the growth of sweet potatoes ( Table 1 ).…”

Planting and Harvesting Mechanization on Productivity, Energy Efficacy and Profitability of Potato Production

“…Epp-h = Herbicide energy input, GJ/ha Epp-p = Pesticide energy input, GJ/ha Total herbicide input, GJ/ha =Her × Heqv (10) Where, Her = Applied rate (kg or lit/ha) of herbicide Heqv = Energy equivalent (GJ/kg or lit) of herbicide Total pesticide input, GJ/ha = Pes × Peqv (11) Where, Pes = Application rate (kg or lit/ha) of pesticide Peqv = Energy equivalent (GJ/kg or lit) of pesticide Irrigation energy input, GJ/ha = Iw × Ieqv (…”

“…Effective energy use in agriculture is one of the conditions for sustainable agricultural production which provides financial savings [8]. Many researchers have studied energy and economic analysis to determine the energy efficiency of crop production, such maize [9], rice [8], potato [10], sweet potato [11]. However, no studies have been published on the energy and economic analysis of potato production in Bangladesh.…”

Climate resilience, yield and geographical suitability of sweet potato under the changing climate: A review

“…In a recent study, Mbayaki and Kinama (2022) reported the water use efficiency and water productivity of two sweet potato varieties in Kenia, and the values are 39.8, 30 kg ha −1 mm −1 , and 1.11, 0.95 kg m −3 , respectively. Alam et al (2023) reported the water‐energy productivity of sweet potato in Bangladesh as 1.32 g m −3 MJ −1 with an average water productivity of 4.97 kg m −3 and average water use efficiency of 28.33. Thus, water productivity and water use efficiency may change for crop variety and location (Dladla et al, 2018).…”