Analysis on influencing factors of fuel consumption for mechanical paddy rice production in double-cropping areas in southern China

Analysis on infulencing factors on fuel consumption in double cropping areas in south China is needed, because it can improve the understanding of how to reduce the amount of fuel consumption, the cost of agricultural production, to protect the environment and thus to increase farmers' income. 120 valid micro-data, empirical study and comparative analysis were used in the research. Results demonstrated that fuel consumption for paddy rice mechanical production was 95.08 L/hm2 in double-cropping area, which was 11.80% higher than that in Northern paddy region (Heilongjiang Province), 9.12% higher than that in paddy-wheat rotate region (JiangSu Province), and 59.21% higher than that in Japan. Influencing factors on fuel consumption ranged from highest to lowest were as follows: machinery application environment, machinery allocation, machinery performance, mechanical technologies, and education level of machinery operators. The research is meaningful for reducing fuel consumption and cost of paddy rice production.