Energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in silage corn production under different tillage methods

In this study, input and output energies, energy indices, water productivity, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from inputs were determined for silage corn production under different tillage practices. Tillage methods were conventional tillage (CT), reduced tillage (RT), and no-till (NT). Results showed that reduced and no-till decreased energy requirements for ۱.۱۲ and ۱.۷۷%, respectively compared to the conventional tillage mostly because of less fuel and machinery consumption. Conventional tillage had the higher energy use, energy output, net energy gain, energy efficiency, energy productivity, and water productivity compared to the reduced tillage and no-till. Electricity for pumping irrigation water had the highest share in total input energy of corn silage production in all tillage methods followed by chemical fertilizers showing that using more efficient irrigation methods can significantly reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. More than ۶۰ and ۹۱% of consumed energies were direct energy and non-renewable energy, respectively. The highest greenhouse gas emission was related to the no-till followed by reduced and conventional tillage, and electricity for water pumping and irrigation system installation had the greatest share in the total greenhouse gas emissions.

Keywords:

Silage corn , energy indices , GHG emissions , tillage methods , water productivity