Eco-energy and environmental evaluation of cantaloupe production by life cycle assessment method

Environmental crises and resource depletion have adversely affected the food security around the world. Food security in the future can be guaranteed by sustainable agriculture that respects the environment. So, it is necessary to decrease the energy consumption of resources for agricultural productions to achieve the maximum sustainability. For agricultural productions, environmental and energy issues are completely interrelated, and a comprehensive evaluation is necessary to manage them in all productions. In this study, energy, environmental, and economic indicators in cantaloupe production were studied. The studied energy indices included energy efficiency, energy productivity, net energy gain, and energy intensity. Life cycle method based on ISO 14040 standard was used to evaluate the environmental impacts. This method includes goal statement, identification of inputs and outputs, and a system for assessing and interpreting the environmental impacts of various agricultural productions. Also, for economic analysis, the average prices of inputs and outputs and also net return (NR), gross return (GR), and profit-to-cost ratio were used. The results showed that nitrogen fertilizer (32.28%) and diesel fuel (30.52%) had the highest and cantaloupe seeds (0.39%), and oil consumption in tractor engines (0.43%) had the lowest share of energy consumption, respectively. Energy efficiency, energy productivity, energy intensity, and net energy gain were estimated 0.56, 0.70 kg MJ^-1, 1.41 MJ kg^-1, and - 11,775.86 MJ ha^-1, respectively. The results of the present status of environmental impacts showed that the most effective factor in climate change is direct emissions from the diesel fuel. Also, indirect emissions from phosphorus and urea fertilizers had the highest effect on ecosystem quality. Various machine operations such as primary and secondary plowing, spraying, and transportation were the main causes of high diesel fuel consumption. Economic analysis showed that the profit-to-cost ratio and the productivity values were calculated about 1.6 and 7.27, respectively, which means that for every dollar spent in cantaloupe farms, it produced 7.27 kg of cantaloupe production. The variable costs were estimated at 1154.5 and fixed cost was 1487 $ha^-1. Among the variable costs, transportation and fuel costs were the highest with 64.3%. Decreasing the diesel fuel consumption by using appropriate farm management methods and using the reduce tillage methods can play an effective role in reducing the consumption of this input and improving the energy, environmental, and economic indicators in cantaloupe production.