Quantifying of Ecological Sustainability of Greenhouse Production Systems in Sistan

The aim of this study was to compile composite indicators for quantifying the ecological sustainability of greenhouse production in Sistan. These indices assesses information about the agricultural community-economically، producing crops and livestock، fertilizer and chemical materials، crop residue management، water and irrigation، tillage and mechanization، weed management and agrobiodiversity in greenhouse and farm. Data were collected from 100 farmers using a face-to-face questionnaire during 2012. After verification of the questionnaire data were analyzed. Average score of sustainability index in greenhouse system is 49. 3 and 64. 2 % of farmers have earned 40 or less scores. The results of step by step regression progressive showed that the most important factors determining the sustainability index in the systems were; crop species diversity، variety of herbicides and fungicides، crop residue management، and accessibility to inputs، respectively، while the use of chemical fertilizers، had no significant effect on sustainability index. The study of critical points revealed that to improve the greenhouse systems sustainability، training of farmers، helping them to achieve economic sustainability، improving crop and water resources management must be a priority.