Publication: Comparison of Carbon Footprint of Organic and Conventional Farming of Chinese Kale
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Issued Date
2019
Resource Type
Language
eng
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Mahidol University
Rights Holder(s)
Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies Mahidol University
Bibliographic Citation
Environment and Natural Resources Journal. Vol. 17, No. 1 (2019), 78-92
Suggested Citation
Monthira Yuttitham Comparison of Carbon Footprint of Organic and Conventional Farming of Chinese Kale. Environment and Natural Resources Journal. Vol. 17, No. 1 (2019), 78-92. doi:10.32526/ennrj.17.1.2019.08 Retrieved from: https://repository.li.mahidol.ac.th/handle/123456789/40495
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Title
Comparison of Carbon Footprint of Organic and Conventional Farming of Chinese Kale
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Other Contributor(s)
Abstract
This study compared the carbon footprint (CF) of organic agriculture with that of
conventional agriculture in the cultivation of Chinese kale. The farm management
data collected included the use of chemical and organic fertilizers, and fossil fuel
for tillage, irrigation and transportation. Greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) were
calculated and added to the CF. The results showed that conventional agriculture
had a CF of 0.402±0.47 kg CO2e/kg Chinese kale. Proportion of CFs from:
chemical fertilizer (51%), transportation (21%), irrigation (19%), tillage (5%),
organic fertilizer (2%), herbicide (1%) and insecticide (1%), and organic
agriculture had a CF of 0.195±0.122 kg carbon dioxide CO2e/kg Chinese kale
(proportion of CFs from: transportation (81%) organic fertilizer (12%) and fossil
fuel for irrigation (7%). The CFs differed, depending on farm management, and that
of conventional agriculture was almost double that of organic agriculture because
of the higher emissions from use of chemical fertilizers and of fossil fuel for tillage,
herbicide and insecticide applications. The conventional farm management led to
higher production per unit of planted area. Thus, it seems that conventional farming
has relatively higher CF than organic farming. There is still room for both
management practices to reduce their GHG emissions and their CFs by reduce
chemical fertilizer and fossil fuel use in conventional farming. The promotion of
organic farming practices will help to improve sustainable, environmentally
friendly agricultural production of Chinese kale in Thailand.