The valley of the Rio Negro river is blessed with abundant water. Still, Roberto and his colleagues are careful with this valuable resource. “I only irrigate my orchard as the soil and the trees require, never according to a set schedule. This is typical organic practice”. Some parts of the orchard use drip irrigation, others use flooding irrigation; this depends on the type of soil. The farm is located upstream, which means that the river water is still clean and not contaminated by  conventional farms.

Water footprint

Apples
Total water footprint: 830.2 liters/kg.
 
Pears
Total water footprint: 818.8 liters/kg.

What does this mean
The water footprint shows the amount of water used for one kilogram of fruit, for the whole process: from the tree to a European store. The global average water footprint for apples is 700 litres. The footprint of Roberto’s apples is a bit higher, because of the dry and sunny climate.
 
Technical explanation
The water footprint of the apples and pears by PAI – Fruempac was measured accurately.
The water footprint is calculated in line with the Water Footprint Network methodology. The concept and methods have been recognized in scientific literature. It distinguishes between “blue”, “”green” and “grey” water. “Blue” refers to surface waters and ground water, “green” refers to rain water in the upper soil, and “grey” refers to the amount of water pollution. Water use related to the generation of electricity and the production of input materials was excluded. This calculation was based on data regarding yields and practices for the season/year of 2008. The water footprint study was carried out independently by Soil & More International BV. www.soilandmore.com