Comparison of energy flow and economic performance between flat land and sloping land olive orchards

The aim of this research was to compare the production systems of flat and sloping olive orchards and analyze the effect of land situation (flat and sloping) on use of energy input resources. The study conducted on olive orchards of Rudbar region, the origin of olive plant in Iran. The results showed that total energy input was 15.9 GJ ha(-1) for flat orchards and 23.3 GJ ha(-1) for sloping orchards. Energy ratio and energy productivity were higher for flat orchards by 1.60 and 0.14 kg MJ(-1), instead sloping orchards had higher specific energy and net energy values with 8.03 MJ kg(-1) and 11.9 GJ ha(-1). An econometric model based on Cobb Douglas production function was applied to show the impact of inputs on olive yield for both orchard types. The benefit to cost ratio was 1.52 and 1.35 and net return was 707.63 $ ha(-1) and 726.41 $ ha(-1) for flat orchards and sloping orchards, respectively. Sloping orchards produce higher level of olive yield, but energy and economic analysis revealed that their efficiency in use of energy inputs and capital is lower than flat orchards. Inordinate consumption of chemical inputs to increase yield, will impose risk to natural resources together with environmental pollution. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.