ENERGY REQUIREMENT AND MANAGEMENT IN A POTATO PRODUCTION SYSTEM

The energy analysis at CPRS, Jalandhar farm revealed that among the various operations, irrigation consumed the maximum amount of energy, i.e. 6622.12 MJ/ha (44.4%) followed by seedbed preparation 3192.84 MJ/ha (21.4%). Total operation wise energy consumption for potato production was found to be 14902.77 MJ/ha. Amongst the indirect energy sources, the energy input derived through the seed material was maximum, i.e. 16320 MJ/ha (36.05%). Fertilizer contributed the next major share of energy input, i.e. 10870 MJ/ha (24.01%). The total energy requirement for potato production under mechanized system from all the sources including the direct and indirect sources was 45262.98 MJ/ha. Average output energy from potato was 62983.6 MJ/ha. The output to input energy ratio and average specific energy requirement for the crop was observed to be 1.4 and 2.6 MJ/kg, respectively.