Research measured the water footprint in pisquera grapes:
INIA Intihuasi presented book «Determination of Water Footprint and Water Resources Management Strategies»
The publication «Determination of water footprint and Water Resources Management Strategies», published by researcher Alfonso Osorio Ulloa, was presented on Wednesday, July 10, by the Regional Director of INIA Intihuasi, Francisco Meza to students, academics, authorities and farmers in the area.
The study of the water footprint in the main agricultural products of the country, in which 16 agronomic, agricultural and environmental engineers participated as authors, aims to give greater precision and focus to the policies and incentives for better water management and is considered by the authors, as a fundamental and indispensable technical tool for the improvement of agriculture.
The Ministry of Agriculture commissioned the INIA to carry out this study that would allow the estimate of the reference water footprint and calculate the actual water footprint in crop stist areas throughout the country, between the regions of Arica and Aysén, for products: table grapes, pisquera grapes, avocado, olive, citrus, cherry, blueberry, peach, , fresh consumption tomato, industrial tomato, maize, livestock products such as milk and beef, with the exception of the cultivation of rice and sheep meat, which were not calculated in the actual water footprint.
The water footprint of a product is defined as the total volume of fresh water that is used directly or indirectly to produce a good (Hoekstra et al., 2009). It is calculated taking into account the direct and indirect water consumption associated with pollution at all steps of the production process. In this way three components are established, these are the blue footprint (surface waters, rivers, groundwater), the green footprint (rains) and the gray footprint (volume of fresh water that is required to assimilate contaminants, chemicals).
The chapter Water Footprint in Pisquera grapes by Alfonso Osorio and Rodolfo Poblete presents the calculation of the reference water footprint and real water footprint of the varieties of greatest importance in the production of pisco, such as Moscatel Rosada, Pedro Jiménez, Moscatel de Austria and Moscatel de Alexandria, and in the agroclimatic districts published by CIREN.
The main variables that define the water footprint of the different varieties of pisquera grapes in both regions, are the geographical location that determines the ET of the crop, precipitation, yields and management of fertilization.
According to the researchers, strategies to improve the water footprint should be oriented to a more efficient use, both of the water resource, as well as the application of fertilizers, as well as an increase in yields, the product of better management of production factors.
INIA created a software to calculate the water footprint, by researcher Rodolfo Poblete. The calculator is available on the website: www.iniariego.cl, in which the man of the respective crop must be entered.
If you are interested in purchasing the free-cost book, you should call INIA Intihuasi, at 51 – 2 – 223290, because copies are limited.
