Economic effects of bent leg cultivator on sugar beet crop production

Document Type : Scientific - Research

Authors

1 Assistant professor of Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (AREEO), Shiraz, Iran.

2 Associate professor of Agronomy, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (AREEO), Shiraz, Iran.

3 Assistant professor of Sugar Beet Research Department, Fars Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center (AREEO) Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

Mechanical control of weeds in the field can reduce the environmental concerns caused by high application and costs of herbicides. This study was performed to determine the technical and economic effect of new bent leg cultivator on sugar beet yield. The study included seven treatments of bent leg cultivator with 45 mm blade width, bent leg cultivator with 45 mm blade width + furrower, bent leg cultivator with 65 mm blade width, bent leg cultivator with 65 mm blade width + furrower, conventional cultivator (crescent blade), control of weed in all seasons, and without weed control performed in randomized complete block design with three replications. In order to evaluate the technical and economic effect of cultivators on sugar beet yield, sugar beet root yield parameters, sugar content, sugar yield, income and cost of treatments were measured and using the marginal net profit analysis method, the economic return on investment of each method in weed control were obtained compared with other methods. Results showed that the economically appropriate treatment was bent leg cultivator with 65 mm width + furrower. Results also showed that the new technology of bent leg cultivator has the potential to increase weed control along with increasing crop yield as well as farmer’s net profit.

Keywords


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