5 research outputs found
Irrigation with treated wastewater affected the minor components of virgin olive oil from cv. Chemlali in Tunisia
Water limitation for agriculture is a problem
in many countries and irrigation with treated wastewater
(TWW) can be a tool to face the decreasing availability
of water for important domestic crops such as olive. Taking
into account this aspect, a research was carried out for
13 years in an olive grove (Chemlali cultivar) located in
the area of Sfax (Tunisia). Two different irrigation treatments
were applied: (a) irrigation with good quality water
(GQW) and (b) irrigation with TWW. The main objective
of this 13-year study was to verify the effects of the irrigation
with TWW vs. GQW on some minor parameters of the
virgin olive oil. Many oil parameters significantly increased
in the TWW irrigated plot, in particular lutein, total tocopherols,
squalene, campesterol and stigmasterol whereas
β-carotene, α-tocopherol, δ-tocopherol, β-sitosterol and
total sterols decreased with respect to the GQW treatment.
Irrigation with TWW can be a possible tool to irrigate olive
groves with two positive effects: saving of freshwater and
production of olive oil of good quality