Analysis of energy consumption for tomato production in low technology greenhouses of Mexico

In the production of fruits and vegetables in greenhouses the efficient use of energy is important for achieving profitability and for obtaining a sustainable agriculture management. In this work, the energy consumption required during a production cycle of a greenhouse tomato crop was analyzed. The energy consumption of two production units, located in two regions of Mexico: Atlixco, Puebla and Durango, Durango, were evaluated. The greenhouses are low technology. The life cycle analysis methodology was used to estimate energy consumption. Total energy consumption for a tomato crop cycle were: 418,431.1 and 665,494.7 MJ ha^‑1, meanwhile the specific energy consumption was 2.09 and 2.02 MJ kg^‑1 and consumption of energy m^‑2 was: 41.84 and 66.55 MJ m^‑2 for Atlixco and Durango respectively.