Evaluation of energy input and output of sweet sorghum grown as a bioenergy crop on coastal saline-alkali land

▸ Sweet sorghum exhibited higher energy use productivity than cotton and maize. ▸ Nitrogen fertilizer was the highest energy portion among all inputs for the 3 crops. ▸ Cobb-Douglas model analysis shown sweet sorghum had an increasing return to scale. ▸ Cotton had a constant and maize a decreasing return to scale. ▸ Diesel and nitrogen fertilizer had positive impacts on sweet sorghum energy output.