| چکیده انگلیسی مقاله |
Assessment of energy and environmental indices is a common method for estimating sustainable production in different sectors of agriculture. Considering the area under apple cultivation in Urmia city located in West Azarbaijan province, the present study aimed to investigate the status of energy consumption and emission the environmental pollutants through life cycle assessment for apple production and storage in the cropping season. Required data were collected through questionnaires and interviews with apple growers. Based on the results, the average of the total required energy input and the yield of apple orchard were obtained as 116,505 MJ/ha and 34,951 kg/ha, respectively. For post-harvest operations, the average of total energy inputs was estimated as 15,727 MJ/t. In the apple orchards, the contribution of fuel, pesticides, and transportation to total energy input were 58%, 12%, and 11%, respectively, while in the post-harvest section, the share of apple baskets and electricity in total energy input were 50% and 46%, respectively. Assessment of energy indices showed that energy ratio, energy productivity, specific energy, and energy net-added were 0.72, 0.3 kg/MJ, 3.33 MJ/kg, and -32621 MJ/ha, respectively. Based on the results obtained from the environmental impact assessment of apple, the highest normalized pollution in apple orchard was related to Eutrophication and Freshwater aquatic ecotoxicity impact categories, while in post-harvest operations, Marine aquatic ecotoxicity and Acidification impact categories had the highest amounts. Based on the results, diesel fuel and manure with a share of 97% of total emissions were identified as the environmental hotspots in the apple orchards. |
