Sustainability And Water Usage In The Fruit Growing Industry
Any industry involved in mass-producing fruit or vegetation naturally relies on water as a major instrument. The fruit-growing industry uses water in two primary ways.
Firstly, the fruit growing industry relies on whichever water can naturally be sourced in the form of rain. Some fruits must be kept in a greenhouse and are watered through appropriate irrigation and sprinklers, but this is usually only rainwater reused.
The second way fruit producers use water is in the processes that aren't involved in the explicit, botanical growth of the product. These processes conduct secondary but important operations such as cleaning the fruit and providing adequate artificial drainage.
How can the fruit growing sector industry act to promote water sustainability?
Industry must also play its part. The first step in conserving water in your operation is to assess your present water consumption. This can be carried out by performing a water audit. Alternatively, you can examine your past water bills. A water audit helps you pinpoint areas with heavy water consumption by determining the basic data for water use.
The most effective means of tracking water consumption and waste is conducting regular water use monitoring. Routine inspections will help businesses determine the amount of water used daily. Companies can perform routine inspections by fitting water monitors, pressure sensors, water flow gauges, etc. Such instruments come in handy for getting an idea of the water usage management in the operations. It can also aid fruit farms in identifying where water use is highest.
FAQs
How much water does the fruit growing industry use?
In simple language, fruit production requires a great deal of water. The exact amount depends on the company's size, but it is safe to say that mass fruit production is not possible without a lot of water. The use of water for fruit production can best be split up into three colours used as specific terms in water sustainability: blue water, green, and greywater.
What is meant by blue, green, and greywater?
Bluewater footprint: The quantity of surface and groundwater needed to produce a commodity - for fruit, this primarily applies to plant cultivation.
Green water footprint: The volume of rainwater required to manufacture a fruit product. This may involve dry farming, where only rainwater is used to grow the plants.
Greywater footprint: The volume of freshwater required to dilute the effluent generated in production to sustain water standards following government and community regulations. This relates to matters like runoff from fruit farm fields.
How can we achieve water sustainability in fruit farming?
Regenerative farming, permaculture and organic agriculture strive to wisely harness resources to enhance the soil's quality and productivity, allowing it to store water while also keeping the requirement for over-irrigation in check. The latest technological progress in vertical hydroponic farming enables highly productive fruit farming methods that minimise water usage in different locations.
Water services to help you grow
We’re creating better water, wastewater and trade effluent services for UK farming and agriculture businesses.
We believe that a great service should save you both money and time. That’s why we’ve optimised our solutions for simplicity and efficiency, so you can spend more time where you’re needed most.
With our specialist team on your side, you can better manage your water services to reduce costs, improve yields and bolster profitability, without being pulled from the core elements of your business. Castle Water offer a range of tailored water services including: