Abstract
Industrial tomatoes are cultivated in about 4000 ha of the Pinios river basin (central Greece), providing significant income to the farmers. In this study, the water footprint (WF) of industrial tomatoes between planting and harvest was estimated in 24 different farms for three consecutive years. The selected farms were representative of the main agro-climatic zones and soil textural classes within the river basin. Green, blue and grey WF calculations were based on datasets of the experimental plots for each farm, including irrigation water volume, meteorological, soil, and crop yield data. The results showed that the WF of tomatoes ranged from 37 to 131 m3 water/ton tomatoes with an average of 61 m3/ton. The WF variation depended mainly on crop yield, local agro-climatic and soil conditions. The green, blue, and grey WF components averaged 13, 27 and 21 m3/ton, respectively. The results reveal the importance of WF in understanding how tomato production relates to the sustainable use of freshwater and pollution at local level.
Highlights
Agriculture is the most significant water user in the European Union, consuming up to 80% of the total water in some parts of the Mediterranean region [1]
In Greece, irrigation of crops accounts for almost all agricultural water use and in some cases, has reached unsustainable levels [2]
Chico et al [14] estimated the WFgrey between 10 and 68 m3 /ton with an average of 35 m3 /ton for industrial tomatoes cultivated in different regions of Spain while Aldaya et al [39] estimated the WFgrey between 19 and 31 m3 /ton in Italy
Summary
Agriculture is the most significant water user in the European Union, consuming up to 80% of the total water in some parts of the Mediterranean region [1]. In Greece, irrigation of crops accounts for almost all agricultural water use and in some cases, has reached unsustainable levels [2]. Irrigated land (200,000 ha) covers half of the total cultivated area and corresponds to about 18% of irrigated land in the country. Irrigation water is derived mostly from groundwater sources which have been over-exploited for many years. This has led to a lower groundwater table, costly pumping from bigger depths and enhanced saline water intrusion in coastal areas [4]. Cotton is the main crop of the region, covering
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