Energy efficiency of nitrogen fertilizer use in cereal and sugar beet production

摘要

Energy is the central issue of agriculture. Agriculture supplies energy by growing crops which convert solar energy into biomass, which in turn supplies energy to human beings and animals. The ability of agriculture to supply energy in the form of biomass is greatly enhanced by the use of mineral fertilizers. Due to the high energy consumption during the production of mineral nitrogen fertilizers, it is often questioned whether the use of mineral fertilizers in agricultural production is energy efficient. In Western Europe, for example approximately 50% of all the energy consumed in wheat production is required to manufacture, transport and apply nitrogen fertilizers. However, field trials have shown that the extra energy captured in wheat when using mineral N fertilizers at economically optimum rates is more than 6 times the energy used to manufacture, transport and apply the fertilizer. The paper shows the data of energy balance calculations for different crops (wheat, sugar beet, rice) produced in different regions at different production intensities (different fertilizer application rates).