~ 1002 ~ Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 2018; 7(5): 1002-1006 E-ISSN: 2278-4136 P-ISSN: 2349-8234 JPP 2018; 7(5): 1002-1006 Received: 22-07-2018 Accepted: 24-08-2018 Vinay Kumar Research Scholar at Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Neeraj kumar Singh Research Scholar at Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Swati Nirbhavane Research Scholar at Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Dr. Ritu Dogra Professor, Faculty of Renewable Energy Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Correspondence Vinay Kumar Research Scholar at Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Punjab, India Operational wise energy use pattern in saffron production of the Pulwama district in Kashmir region, India Vinay Kumar, Neeraj kumar Singh, Swati Nirbhavane and Dr. Ritu Dogra Abstract Efficient energy use helps to achieve increased production and productivity. It also contributes to the economy, profitability and competitiveness of agricultural sustainability of rural communities. Study of saffron production system in view of energy consumption was conducted in district Pulwama of Kashmir region. Ten villages from the district were selected on the basis of highest saffron grown area and their average mean data were used. Data and information was collected by using a face to face questionnaire from saffron fields. Results revealed that the total energy used in various production processes for producing saffron was 155880.7 MJha -1 . Amongst the production practices in saffron production, human labour was the most energy consuming input (48.79%), followed by seed (38.41%), nitrogen fertilizer (6.18%) and FYM manure (1.92%). Outputs in saffron are stigma, leaf, flower and corm. Stigma, leaf, flower and corm yields were 1.59, 507, 634.21 and 672.37 kg ha -1 . The total energy input consumed could be classified in saffron fields as direct (50.87%), indirect (49.13%), renewable (89.13%), and non- renewable energy (10.86%). The share of renewable energy input used in total energy input was around 8 times more than non-renewable energy in saffron fields. Energy use efficiency Specific energy, energy productivity and net energy were found to be 0.18, 40383.60 MJ Kg -1 , 2.4×10 -5 Kg MJha -1 and – 127,254.51 MJha -1 respectivelly. Keywords: Saffron, saffron harvest Jammu and Kashmir, energy input, renewable energy, energetics 1. Introduction Saffron is a nonperishable high value low volume commercial crop of Jammu & Kashmir State and is made from the dried stigmas of the Saffron flower (Crocus Sativus Linn, Fig. 1). Saffron grows in climatically diverse regions, varying in temperature, altitude and humidity conditions. Saffron is a high price spice because of much labour requirement for its cultivation, harvesting, packaging and handling (Alam, A. 2008) [3] . Jammu and Kashmir agriculture has an international identity. The world's best saffron is grown in the valley and its major intensity is in district Pulwama and Budgam. Nearly 90% of the total area in the state under this crop is cultivated in Kashmir province only (Table 1). Its cultivation in Jammu division is limited to district Kishtwar only. Saffron is a rain fed crop and Saffron is a kharif crop. The main output of the crop is a dark yellow substance obtained from the flowers called the saffron. Saffron the identity of Jammu and Kashmir and the pride of valley is rapidly vanishing although its cultivation had spread beyond the terraces of Pampore in South Kashmir, where it has been grown since ancient times. The recorded Saffron cultivation and production in Jammu &and Kashmir dating back to year 1980-89 used to be about 300-400 quintals per year while the cultivation has been now reduced to 130 quintals per year (Khanday et al. 2008) [2] . In Jammu and Kashmir the saffron has been growing at a rate 1.63 kg per hectare, while in other saffron producing countries of the world, it is relatively more (Anonymous, 2014) [4] . Saffron in Kashmir region is grown on an area of about 3,200 ha and average land holding of saffron farmers is 0.56 ha. Saffron cultivation is not highly mechanized in this day and age, although it requires high labour input during the most important growing phases (Anonymous, 2014) [5] . Energy is considered to be the basic driving force for development of human. The history of successful civilization of human also depended on man’s progress in harnessing energy, i.e. to use energy more efficiently and convert it into a more useful form. In agriculture, energy is important in terms of crop production and agro-processing for value adding (Ozkan et al. 2004) [6] . Energy use is one of the key indicators for developing more sustainable agricultural practices. Wider use of renewable energy sources, increase in energy supply and efficiency of use can make a valuable contribution to meeting sustainable energy development targets