Energy use pattern and economic analyses of pomegranate cultivation in Turkey

The objective of this study was; to determine the energy usage, to find the output-input energy ratio and their relationships, and to analyse the economic variables in pomegranate cultivation in Turkey. Antalya region, which is one of the most important native lands of the pomegranate cultivation and agricultural centre in Turkey, was selected as the research area. The energy use pattern and economic item values were determined by a survey including 92 farms from three zones having various geographical and land properties. Three zones were selected since pomegranate fruit cultivation is realized in different areas such as coastline and mountainous terrain. Energy and economic variables were calculated using standard equations. The findings showed that the energy requirements were between 32619.0 and 44462.7 MJ ha-1 and the energy ratios of three different zones varied from 1.25 to 1.94. Total net return and benefit-cost ratio ranges were found to be 4427 - 11693 $ ha-1 and 1.43 - 1.73, respectively.