Life Cycle Assessment of Winter Wheat Production Using Precision and Conventional Seeding Technologies

Marius Kazlauskas, Indrė Bručienė, Dainius Savickas, Vilma Naujokienė, Sidona Buragienė, Dainius Steponavičius, Kęstutis Romaneckas and Egidijus Šarauskis ()
Additional contact information
Marius Kazlauskas: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, LT-53362 Akademija, Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Indrė Bručienė: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, LT-53362 Akademija, Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Dainius Savickas: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, LT-53362 Akademija, Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Vilma Naujokienė: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, LT-53362 Akademija, Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Sidona Buragienė: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, LT-53362 Akademija, Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Dainius Steponavičius: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, LT-53362 Akademija, Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Kęstutis Romaneckas: Department of Agroecosystems and Soil Sciences, Faculty of Agronomy, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 11, LT-53361 Akademija, Kaunas Distr., Lithuania
Egidijus Šarauskis: Department of Agricultural Engineering and Safety, Faculty of Engineering, Agriculture Academy, Vytautas Magnus University, Studentu Str. 15A, LT-53362 Akademija, Kaunas Distr., Lithuania

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 19, 1-13

Abstract: Sustainable and responsible agricultural production is one of the keys to keeping people, animals, soil, and the environment healthy. Precision seeding technologies for winter wheat, exploiting the variability of soil properties and adapting the technological processes of variable rate seeding and variable seeding depths, are essential not only to improving plant productivity and economic benefits but also to cleaner agricultural production. This work aimed to carry out a life cycle assessment (LCA) of winter wheat production and determine the environmental impact of different precision seeding technologies in terms of individual impact categories compared to conventional seeding technology. Experimental studies were carried out between 2020 and 2022 using conventional uniform seeding rate (URS) and several precision seeding technologies: in the first year—VRS for variable seeding rate and VRS + VRF for variable seeding rate and fertilizer rate, and in the second year—VRS and VRSD for variable seeding rate and variable depth, and VRSD + VRF for variable seeding rate, variable depth, and variable fertilizer rate. The results obtained for winter wheat grain yield showed that the effect of precision seeding technology on the increase of grain yield was not significant compared to the URS. A greater influence on grain yield was found in individual soil management zones, especially in the zone with the worst soil fertility. The LCA did not show any significant differences between precision seeding technology and conventional technology in any of the environmental impact categories. The GWP values (0.200–0.236 kg CO 2eq kg −1 ) were most dependent on grain yield, as precision seeding technology had small changes in the amount of inputs (seeds and fertilizers), while all other technological operations were the same as under the URS technology. The amounts of phosphorus and potassium fertilizers decreased by 1.4 and 7.9%, respectively, and the amounts of winter wheat seeds and nitrogen fertilizers increased by 4.1 and 5.4%, respectively, compared to the URS.

Keywords: environmental analysis; variable rate seeding; variable seeding depth; variable rate fertilization; global warming potential; grain yield (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/19/14376/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/19/14376/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:19:p:14376-:d:1250972

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().