MINIMISING THE WATER FOOTPRINT OF FRUIT FOR MULTIPLE BENEFITS

Water footprints have been proposed as being suitable indicators for quanti-fying the impacts of goods and services on freshwater scarcity and quality. We have assessed two different approaches to determine the water footprint of apples. These approaches are the consumptive approach of the Water Footprint Network (WFN), and the hydrological approach that has recently been published for kiwifruit from New Zealand. Using the hydrological approach, which we consider rational, we find that the water footprint of export apple production from the orchard phase in New Zealand is slightly negative, at -3.3 L/kg, although it can be considered essentially zero. That is, as much water is returned to the blue water resource (B) under the orchards by winter rains, as is withdrawn for irrigation in summer. We conclude therefore that export apple production in New Zealand is sustainable in terms of water quantity. Nonetheless, there is burgeoning pressure on our water resources, and apple growers, along with all others, must be encouraged to reduce further their usage of, and impacts on our water resources. To assist apple growers, we have developed a water-footprint decision support tool to enable eco-verification of apple production and measures of continuous improvement