IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v324y2025ics0360544225014938.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

No-tillage intercropping with a robotic mower: Advancing a high productivity, low-carbon and energy-efficient organic farming system

Author

Listed:
  • Huang, Qiliang
  • Someya, Kai
  • Dewi, Ratih Kemala
  • Komatsuzaki, Masakazu

Abstract

Solar-powered farm machinery enhances sustainable agriculture by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Its integration into no-tillage (NT) systems may further enhance environmental benefits and organic farming viability. While intercropping improves productivity and resource efficiency, its sustainability when combined with NT and solar-powered machinery remains unclear. This study evaluates NT and intercropping with solar-powered machinery in organic cherry tomato production. A split-plot field experiment compared two tillage methods [NT and rotary tillage (RT)] and two cropping patterns [cherry tomato/peanut intercropping (TP) and monocropping (M)]. Solar-powered robotic mowers replaced conventional mowers in NT to enhance environmental benefits. Sustainability was assessed through crop productivity, energy efficiency, carbon footprint, and economic profitability. NT reduced fossil fuel and labor use, lowering energy input by 63.1 % compared to RT. NT-TP further improved yields, achieving 13.8 % higher total output than NT-M. Despite higher seed and labor inputs, NT-TP enhanced energy efficiency and profitability due to increased yield. It also improved carbon sequestration, raising soil organic carbon by 1.5 % and partially offsetting carbon emissions, leading to the lowest carbon footprint (816.9 kg CO2 eq ha−1). These findings demonstrate NT-TP's potential to enhance yield, energy efficiency, and profitability while reducing the carbon footprint, being a sustainable management for organic farming.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Qiliang & Someya, Kai & Dewi, Ratih Kemala & Komatsuzaki, Masakazu, 2025. "No-tillage intercropping with a robotic mower: Advancing a high productivity, low-carbon and energy-efficient organic farming system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:324:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225014938
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.135851
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544225014938
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2025.135851?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:324:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225014938. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.