Impact Assessment of Pomegranate Cultivation Using Reclaimed Wastewater

Abstract

The approval of national specific legislative acts and the subsequent elaboration of the regional Water Protection Plans have raised attention on reclaimed wastewater as an abundant usable resource for irrigation or industrial purposes in the Apulia region. Among interesting cultivation pomegranate represent a commodity with niche market share among consumers paying attention to healthy way of life. In the present paper the objective of evaluating the environmental impact and nutritional efficiency of this resource was achieved by comparing 3 treatment scenarios: a) Irrigation with conventional water and fertilization capable of satisfying 100% of the expected nutritional requirements; b) Irrigation with reclaimed urban wastewater and fertilization capable of satisfying 100% of the expected nutritional requirements and c) Irrigation with refined urban waste water and fertilization capable of satisfying 50% of the expected nutritional requirements. The methodology to evaluate the impact assessment was the Life Cycle Assessment. Findings indicate the reclaimed wastewater scenario as the lowest impacting due to electricity consumption for the pumping system of the irrigation infrastructure of pomegranate. Fertirrigation of pomegranate using reclaimed wastewater with 50% lower fertilization does not satisfy the nutrient needs and this supplement should be commensurate to the reclaimed wastewater nutrient content. Results provide to stakeholders the sustainable decision support and this represent the practical implication of this study. Moreover the case study represents an original subject both for the crop, fertirrigation and the location choice of the cultivation and the methodology used.