Energy analysis of rice cultivation in kole lands of Thrissur district

Abstract

A study was conducted to analyse the energy input and output of rice cultivation in the Kole lands of Thrissur district of Kerala. A total of 358 farmers belonging to two different Padashekharam were surveyed for the study. Two Padashekharams namely Sangam Padashekharam and Porathur Padav Padashekharam were selected for the survey. The persolal details, operational details and machinery details were collected through face-to-face interview. Energy input by human labour, fuel, machinery, electricity, pesticide, fertilizers and energy output as grain and straw were estimated. All the quantified inputs were transformed into energy values using their respective equivalent energy coefficients. Energy efficiency, energy productivity, specific energy and net energy were calculated using standard procedures. The energy inputs were divided into direct energy, indirect energy, renewable energy, non-renewable energy, commercial energy and non-commercial energy. The inputs were also used to find the carbon emission from the field.

The results show that the Sangam Padashekharam has a greater energy consumption than Porathur Padav Padashekharam. However, the grain yield is found to be greater in Sangam Padashekharam. The total input and output of Sangam Padashekharam are 33959.53 MJha-1 and 198912.5 MJha-1 respectively, whereas the total input and output of Porathur Padav Padashekharam are 25782.75 MJha-1 and 92225 MJha-1.

The energy pattern consists of 34% fertilizers, 26% electricity, 16% diesel, 8% chemical, 8% human labour, 5% seed and 3% machinery. The specific energy, net energy, energy efficiency and energy productivity in this region was 0.51 MJkg-1, 115697.62 MJha-1, 4.71 and 2.31KgMJ-1 respectively. It was also found that the methane emission from paddy field is the largest contributor to carbon emission than any other inputs used for paddy cultivation and it is about 1078.514 kgCO2 eq. The second major contributor is electricity which is about 551.915 kgCO2 eq. The findings revealed that the energy input for fertilizer is higher in the Kole region. This higher input was due to farmers’ practice of applying fertilizer at rates higher than the PoP recommendation. Energy consumption and production costs can be reduced by using the recommended amount of fertilizer. The second highest energy input is electricity, which can be reduced by using a more efficient pump.