Evaluating the Sustainability of Watermelon and Melon Production Ecosystems based on Emergy and Economic Analysis in Sistan Region

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Assistant Professor, Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Institute, Zabul Research Institute

2 University of ZabolProf., Dept. of Agronomy, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Zabol, Iran

3 Assistant Professor, Agriculture Institute, Research Institute of zabol, Zabol, Iran

4 PhD Student, Unit of Agrotechnology-Physiology major,Dept. of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, University of Zabol, Iran.

Abstract

Kitchen garden crops are really important in the stability and balance of the agricultural ecosystem of the Sistan region. Regarding the significance of food, economy, and job creation, it is vital to study these ecosystems.
five production systems of kitchen garden products, including gandak, sefidak, pashmak, watermelon, and melon, were evaluated in the Sistan region, using emergy and economic indicators. The research data was collected via questionnaires and field measurements from 45farms for gandak, 53farms for sefidak, 37farms for pashmak, 60farms for watermelon, and 82 farms for melon.
The total supporting emergy of gandak, sefidak, pashmak, watermelon, and melon production systems were estimated as 5.83×1016, 5.56×1016, 3.45×1016, 6.48×1016, and 5.83×1016 MJ of solar emergy per hectare per year, respectively. the emergy renewability percentage (R%) of the gandak, sefidak, pashmak, watermelon, and melon production systems was calculated as 3.40, 3.57, 5.21, 3.06, and 3.40%, respectively. The higher R% in the pashmak production system compared to other systems is related to the large share of organic fertilizer use. The lowest amount of environmental renewability among the five systems was related to the watermelon system, which shows that in this system, a high percentage of emergy used is dependent on non-renewable environmental resources.
The ecological sustainability of the watermelon production system is more than the other studied systems, and the assessments based on the calculation of 13 emergy and economic indicators designate that stopping erosion and reducing the use of chemical fertilizers can be effective in the ecological stability of these systems.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AND SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION
Volume 34, Issue 2
August 2024
Pages 355-371

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