Abstract

CAAMAL-PAT, Zulia Helena; CASAS-GARCIA, Ruth Arely  and  URBANO-LOPEZ-DE-MENESES, Beatriz. Economic and environmental fertilization optimization on sugar beet farms in a european region. Rev. Chapingo Ser.Hortic [online]. 2014, vol.20, n.1, pp.117-129. ISSN 2007-4034.  https://doi.org/10.5154/r.rchsh.2013.12.046.

The aim of the work was to economically and environmentally optimize fertilizer use on sugar beet farms in a European region. Firstly, the difference between the applied and recommended doses was calculated, revealing that 54.72 %, 42.01 % and 14.65 % of the surveyed farms used more nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium, respectively, than recommended. Secondly, for the economic optimization, a linear programming model considering available fertilizers and prices was developed to determine the most cost-effective mix of fertilizers to use to comply with the recommended dose. If applied, these fertilizer mixes would save producers up to 22.23 €·ha^-1. Finally, the CO₂ equivalent emissions that could have been avoided and the CO₂ emission rights that could have been negotiated if the excess N had not been applied were calculated. Specifically, 25.545.65 kg of CO₂ emissions could have been avoided and 6.812 € of CO₂ rights could have been traded by the whole region.

Keywords : Fertilization optimization; economic and environmental savings; fertilizer decisions; emissions avoided.

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