Energy consumption and application of parametric method for tomato production in Iran

ABSTRACT: This study applied a parametric (Cobb-Douglas production function) method to examine the energy equivalents of inputs and output and to identify wasteful uses of energy in order to optimize the energy inputs for tomato greenhouse production in Esfahan province of Iran. Data were collected from 30 tomato greenhouses in Esfahan province (Iran) by using a face-to-face questionnaire. Results showed that the tomato production consumed a total 8936680.32 MJ ha-1 and diesel fuel is the major energy inputs in this cultivation. Econometric model evaluation showed that the impact of diesel fuel for tomato production was significant at 1% levels, also the regression coefficient of fertilizer energy was found negative, indicating that power consumption for fertilizer is high in the surveyed greenhouses.