Effect of varying altitudes on energy consumption and wheat production in Himachal Pradesh

Abstract

A field trial was conducted for the wheat crop at four different altitudes in Himachal Pradesh namely Palampur, Malan, Dhaulakuan and Bajaura. Energy is one of the most important inputs in agricultural production. It is used for farm operations, chemical fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides and is obtained from different renewable and non-renewable sources like diesel/petrol, human labour, animal draught, and electricity. The variation in crop production and energy consumption was determined at various altitudes. The most important set of features responsible for increased wheat yield, technology, input energy, and agro-climatic zone. At location, Bajaura produced the highest output energy (171081.7 MJ/ha) which means maximum grain and straw yield. The maximum energy consumption at Bajaura because of the long spell and good crop health to provide more irrigations required more labour for harvesting and threshing. The Increase in energy inputs enhances the output such as yield, biomass and productivity in different ecosystems. This involves making the most use of available energy inputs to boost output even higher in the key wheat growing regions.

Keywords

• Wheat
• Altitude
• Energy input/output
• Direct and indirect energy
• Energy consumption