energy analysis of watermelon production under plasticulture and open-field systems using dea method in khouzestan

data envelopment analysis (dea) technique was used to analyze the efficiency of farmers, discriminate efficient farms from inefficient ones and to identify wasteful uses of energy for orange producers in khouzestan region. data were collected from 125 watermelon producer by using a face-to-face questionnaire. results revealed that total energy consumption in plasticulture and open-field watermelon production systems was 39.64 and 38.92 gj/ha, respectively. the highest share of total energy for watermelon production in plasticulture system were plastic whit 34% , fertilizer with 22% and diesel fuel with 17%. while the highest share of total energy in watermelon in open-field system were observed for diesel fuel , fertilizer and irrigation water whit 37%, 27% and 14%, respectively. the average of technical efficiency and pure technical efficiency for watermelon production in plasticulture system were 0.82 and 0.98. whereas for watermelon production in open-field system was calculated 0.76 and 0.98. the results also revealed that about 4.69 and 10.21 gj/ha in all inefficient units in plasticulture and open-field watermelon production systems could be saved if the producers follow the input package recommended by the dea respectively.