Impact of energy flow optimization on the mitigation of environmental consequences and costs in greenhouse cucumber production.

Cucumber, as a major cultivated plant in Iran, takes up more than 80% of greenhouse production. So, improving the production efficiency can save energy, reduce the environmental consequences and production costs, and also create a lot of job opportunities. The present study aimed to investigate the impact of energy flow optimization on the environmental impacts and costs in greenhouse cucumber production by data envelopment analysis (DEA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) methods. For environmental assessment, human health damage, ecosystem damage, and resource scarcity were considered and analyzed in the form of 8, 12, and 2 impact categories, respectively, using the ReCiPe2016 (H) method on endpoint level. Required data were collected through questionnaire from 30 cucumber growers. The results of the current status of environmental impacts showed the major contribution of fuels (natural gas and diesel) in all three main impact categories. Based on DEA analysis, 19 greenhouses (63%) were identified as inefficient units with a mean efficiency score of 0.70 (TE = 0.7). The highest inefficiency was related to the manure (72%), electricity (71.7%), and fuel (59%), respectively. Electricity and manure showed the highest saving potential, while the highest contribution to total energy saving was related to fuel (87%). Environmental analysis of optimized greenhouses showed that efficient use of inputs can reduce all environmental impacts between 7 and 80%, which highlights the importance of efficient resource management in this study. Also, production costs were decreased by about 67 $ tonne-1 (196 to 129 $) after the optimization of the units.

Chemical footprint of pesticides used in citrus orchards based on canopy deposition and off-target losses.

The application of chemical pesticides is one of the main practices in citrus orchards. But during this operation, a considerable amount of sprayed volume is emitted to off-target areas using air-blast sprayers. The present study aimed to investigate pesticides' toxicological impacts in citrus orchards through determining the proportion of pesticides in different areas (air, soil, and canopy), which facilitate toxicity assessment of pesticides in citrus orchards. In this study, human toxicity and freshwater ecotoxicity impacts were assessed using USEtox 2.1 modeling approach for five active ingredients used in citrus orchards in the south of Iran. Different spraying scenarios were defined based on two types of nozzles (Hallow-cone and Teejet full-cone) and three levels of pressure (30, 40, and 50 bar) in two orchards with different row spacing. Results showed that only 26-37% of spray solution is deposited on the target with much loss to areas between tree canopies on the row. Scenario 1 (Hallow-cone nozzle with spraying pressure as 30 bar) shows the highest spraying efficiency in the both orchards (37% and 34% for Tangerine and Lemon orchards, respectively). Air emissions were obtained around 17 and 18% for hollow-cone and Teejet full-cone nozzles, respectively. The final inventory was obtained considering evaporation rate of active ingredients from soil surface and leaves. Based on the results obtained from toxicological impact assessment, Thiacloprid and Carbendazim had the highest negative environmental impacts on human health and freshwater aquatic ecosystem, respectively. Based on the results, soil emissions were identified as more critical than air emissions in terms of environmental consequences. It can be attributed to the higher characterization factor and deposition on the soil in comparison to the air. The present study provided well-founded information on the environmental performance of production systems by estimating the relevant emissions of pesticides to different compartments and determined the human and freshwater toxicity impact profiles, which assist decision-makers and LCA-practitioners to have a better perspective about pesticides behavior in receiving compartment.