Water requirements and footprint of a super intensive olive grove under Mediterranean climate

Abstract The water footprint of a product can be described as the volume of freshwater used to produce it, associated to a geographic and temporal resolution. For crops, the water footprint relates crop water requirements and yield. The components of water footprint, blue, green and grey water footprints, refer to the volumes of respectively, surface and groundwater, rainfall, and water required to assimilate pollution, used to produce the crop yield. The global standard for crop water footprint assessment relies on evapotranspiration models to estimate green and blue water evapotranspiration. This approach has been used in the present study to estimate the water footprint of a very high density drip irrigated olive grove and further compared with data obtained from evapotranspiration measurements or from its components: the eddy covariance method to quantify latent heat flux, a heat dissipation sap flow technique to determine transpiration and microlysimeters to evaluate soil evaporation. The eddy covariance technique was used for short periods in 2011 and 2012, while sap flow measurements were performed continuously, hence allowing the extension of the data series. Measurements of evapotranspiration with the eddy covariance method provided an average close to 3.4 mm d-1 (2011) and 2.5 mm d-1 (2012). The ratio of evapotranspiration to reference evapotranspiration approached 0.6 and 0.4 for the respective periods. The water footprint of the olive crop under study, calculated with field data, was higher than the water footprint simulated using the global standard assessment and was lower than that reported in literature for olives. Lower values are probably related to differences in cultural practices, e.g., the density of plantation, harvesting techniques and irrigation management. The irrigated high-density olive grove under study had a high yield, which compensates for high water consumption, thus leading to a water footprint lower than the ones of rainfed or less dense groves. Other differences may relate to the procedures used to determine evapotranspiration

Chemical And Physical Characterization Of Mume Fruit Collected From Different Locations And At Different Maturity Stages In São Paulo State

Prunus mume is widely studied due to its health benefits regarding increase of blood fluidity and consequent improvement of the cardiovascular system and the prevention or even the fight against different types of cancer. However, in Brazil this culture is found only among oriental descendants. The present study aimed to characterize mume fruit collected from three different locations in the State of São Paulo regarding general aspects such as pH, total titratable acidity (TTA), total soluble solids (TTS), pectin content and yield of pulp and chemical characteristics: total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant capacity. Mume fruit were collected unripe and analyzed until maturation about 88 days after flowering. Fruit collected in Botucatu came from a commercial mume fruit producer and had average weight of 16.9 g, while in fruit from other locations weight varied from 5.7-6.9 g. TSS ranged from 9.5 to 10.0 Brix, total solids was 10.2-12.2% and pH showed values between 2.5 and 2.7 for all locations. TTA expressed in citric acid decreased from 4.0-5.7 g (100g-1) at unripe stage to 2.0-3.8 g (100g-1) in mature-stage fruit. Pectin content decreased from 11.2 to 10.8% during fruit maturation, TPC content was 147-226 mg catechin (g-1) on a dry matter basis and the antioxidant capacity was 96-169 μMol Trolox (g-1) on a dry matter basis or 21-34 μMol Trolox (g-1) on a wet matter basis.333441445Adachi, M., The Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc (Ume) is a rich natural source of novel anti-cancer substance (2007) International Journal of Food Properties, 10 (2), pp. 375-384. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10942910600547624Baker, R.A., Reassessment of some fruit and vegetable pectin levels (1997) Journal of Food Science, 62 (2), pp. 225-229. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.1997.tb03973.xBenzie, I.F.F., Strain, J.J., The ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) as a measure of "antioxidant power": The FRAP assay (1996) Analytical Biochemistry, 239, pp. 70-76(2008) Normas Analíticas Do Instituto Adolfo Lutz: Métodos Químicos E Físicos Para Análise De Alimentos, p. 1020. , 4. ed. São Paulo: Secretaria de Estado da Saúde, INSTITUTO ADOLFO LUTZ - IALJo, S.-C., Antioxidant activity of Prunus mume extract in cooked chicken breast meat (2006) International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 41 (1), pp. 15-19. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2621.2006.01234.xJun, J.H., Chung, K.H., Development of SCAR markers to differentiate between mume (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) and apricot (P. armeniaca L.) (2008) Journal of Horticultural Science & Biotechnology, 83 (3), pp. 318-322Liu, L., The possible mechanisms of Fructus Mume pill in the treatment of colitis induced by 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid in rats (2009) Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 126, pp. 557-564. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jep.2009.08.013, PMid:19703546Lorenzi, H., (2006) Frutas Brasileiras E Exóticas Cultivadas: (de Consumo In Natura), , São Paulo: Instituto PlantarumLuo, Z., Hot water treatment of postharvest mei fruit to delay ripening (2006) HortScience, 41 (3), pp. 737-740Mayer, N.A., Pereira, F.M., Môro, F.V., Caracterização morfológica de três genótipos de umezeiro selecionados como porta-enxertos para pessegueiro (2008) Revista Brasileira De Fruticultura, 30 (3), pp. 716-722. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0100-29452008000300026McGhie, T.K., Hunt, M., Barnett, L.E., Cultivar and growing region determine the antioxidant polyphenolic concentration and composition of apples grown in New Zealand (2005) Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 53 (8), pp. 3065-3070. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/jf047832r, PMid:15826060Miyazawa, M., Comparision of the volatile componentes of unripe and ripe Japanese apricot (Prunus mume Sieb. et Zucc.) (2009) Natural Product Research, 23 (17), pp. 1567-1571. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14786410500462926, PMid:19851921Penniston, K.L., Quantitative assessment of citric acid in lemon juice, lime juice, and commercially-available fruit juice products (2008) Journal of Endourology, 22 (3), pp. 567-570. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/end.2007.0304, PMid:18290732 PMCid:PMC2637791Quast, E., Prunus mume - fruit characteristics and phenolic content capacity (2011) Fruit Processing, pp. 238-242. , Nov/DecRupasinghe, H.P.V., Jayasankar, S., Lay, W., Variation in total phenolics and antioxidant capacity among European plum genotypes (2006) Scientia Horticulturae, 108 (3), pp. 243-246. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2006.01.020Shi, J., Moy, J.H., Functional foods from fruit and fruit products (2005) Asian Functional Foods, pp. 303-339. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1201/9781420028119, SHI, J.HO, C.-T.SHAHIDI, F., Boca Raton: CRC PressShi, J., Antioxidant capacity of extract from edible flowers of Prunus mume in China and its active components (2009) LWT - Food Science and Technology, 42 (2), pp. 477-482Singleton, V.L., Rossi Jr., J.A., Colorimetry of total phenolics with phosphomolybdic-phosphotungstic acid reagents (1965) American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 16 (3), pp. 144-158Souza, V.C., Lorenzi, H., (2005) Botanica Sistemática: Guia Ilustrado Para Identificação Das Famílias De Angiospermas Da Flora Brasileira, , baseado em APG II. São Paulo: Instituto PlantarumThaipong, K., Comparison of ABTS, DPPH, FRAP and ORAC assays for estimating antioxidant activity from guava fruit extracts (2006) Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 19, pp. 669-675Topp, B.L., Noller, J., Russell, D.M., (2007) Development of Prunus Mume, a New Tree Crop For Australia, p. 113. , Australia: Rural Industries Research and Development CorporationTsubaki, S., Ozaki, Y., Azuma, J., Microwave-assisted autohydrolysis of Prunus mume stone for extraction of polysaccharides and phenolic compounds (2010) Journal of Food Science, 75 (2), pp. 152-157. , http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2009.01466.x, PMid:2049221

Response of intensive and super-intensive olive grove to two different irrigation regimens: physiological parameters, production and quality

Olive grove irrigation has substantially increased in the past years on the region of Alentejo (southern Portugal). The correct determination of the plant water requirements is one of the key factors on the orchard management. This work evaluates the response of two varieties of Olea europaea, Cobrançosa in an intensive grove (hereafter named FEA) and Arbequina in a hedgerow orchard (hereafter named OSul), subject to two water regimes, the one usually practiced by the farmer (emitters with flow rate 1.6 or 2.3 l h-1 on FEA or OSul, respectively) and an excessive water supply on FEA or a deficit irrigation in OSul. The main water relation parameters, chlorophyll content and spectral emission were determined on adult and young leaves, at solar mid-day, three times over the year, spring, late summer and winter 2011. In October, fruits were harvested and total production, oil content and quality were assessed. The results show that in the intensive grove of Cobrançosa (FEA), water supply above the one practiced by the farmer did not improve fruit production neither oil content or quality. There were also no significant differences between the water relation parameters of plants subject to the two irrigation regimes. As to the hedgerow orchard of Arbequina (OSul), deficit irrigation induced lower production and also lower leaf water content, lower water potential and lower stomatal conductance at the end of summer and winter, although oil content and quality remained similar. Chlorophyll content and vegetation indexes were only occasionally affected by the irrigation regime. In both olive groves and irrigation regimes, oil quality was not affected, always attaining the characteristics of an extra virgin olive oil. This research continues in 2012