Case studies and comparative analysis of energy efficiency in wheat production in different climatic conditions of Europe

Abstract

The paper presents results concerning energy efficiency of wheat production considered in the context of specific energy input variation in different climatic conditions of Europe as well as case studies on implementation of selected energy saving measures in practice. It was shown that the highest wheat yield (6.7-8.7 t·ha-1) at the lowest specific energy input (2.08-2.56 GJ·t-1) is unique for temperate climate conditions. The yield in continental and Mediter-ranean climatic conditions is on average lower by 1.3 t·ha-1 and 2.7 t·ha-1 and energy effi-ciency lower by 14% and 38%, respectively. The case studies have shown that the energy saving activities in wheat production may be universal for the climatic zones or specific for a given geographical location. It was stated that trade-offs between energy, economic and en-vironmental effects, which are associated with implementation of a given energy saving measure or a set of measures to a great extent depend on the current energy efficiency sta-tus of the farm and opportunity for investment, which varies substantially across Europe.