Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of Peach Fruit in Mazandaran Province

increase in population growth has increased the demand for agricultural and horticultural products, and given the limitations of arable land, a strategy must be pursued to increase production per unit area. This strategy requires the use of various chemical inputs in the cultivation of various products, which will have many harmful effects. The present study investigated the environmental impacts (using SimaPro software) during the one-year growth period of peach fruit in Mazandaran province. In this study, environmental indicators in peach fruit production were determined using the life cycle assessment and the IMPACT 2002+ method. Input data were determined using a questionnaire and output data were determined using the Ecoinvent database available in SimaPro 9.00.48 software and the methods and standards used by researchers in previous studies. The highest contribution to eutrophication was calculated for diesel fuel at 0.00195 in terms of PO4. The highest contribution to ozone depletion was calculated for diesel fuel and pesticides at 0.00000466 and 0.00000698 in terms of CFC-11eq, respectively. The most important factors in the number of environmental indicators for producing one ton of peach fruit in a year were nitrogen fertilizer, the use of agricultural machinery, and also diesel fuel used in the orchard. According to the results obtained and also the research conducted in this field, nitrogen fertilizer was the main factor in environmental indicators.
Introduction
Environmental risks are a major concern in Iran. On the other hand, agriculture plays a key role in environmental impacts in this country, as this sector is both a producer and consumer of energy and can increase or decrease environmental impacts. Some methods can help reduce the environmental consequences of agricultural production. One of the most common tools for analyzing environmental systems is life cycle assessment. A technique called life cycle assessment (LCA) evaluates a product's possible environmental impact at each stage of production, from the extraction of raw materials to waste management. It would appear vital to look into the environmental effects of peach production in Mazandaran, as it is the province with the highest volume of peach production in Iran. The life cycle assessment of the peach product will be examined and studied in this study as no research has been conducted in Mazandaran province on the evaluation of this product.
Materials and Methods
The majority of the data gathered in the province was in the cities of Neka, Miandoroud, and Sari because they have the largest peach production areas in the province. The quantity of inputs used and the costs incurred were assessed following the creation of the questionnaires and their completion by various gardeners around the province. All peach gardeners in Mazandaran province are included in the research's statistical population. There are roughly 4250 peach orchards in the province overall, based on data gathered from Sari's Agricultural Jihad Department. A simple method of random sampling was applied in this study.
Sima Pro 9.00.48 software was used to enter the data gathered from peach fruit production, and the result was calculated according to one ton of peach fruit. A large amount of information in the database related to every product around the world is stored in this software, at each stage of production the collected data is entered into the software separately and then for the final evaluation of the IMPACT 2002+ model, among the models that There is in the software was selected. The information that was stored in the software was considered as input and other information from the inputs consumed for a production period as well as the coefficients related to the consumption of fuel, fertilizer, etc. were also entered into the software.
Results and Discussion
Overuse of agricultural inputs, such as fossil fuels and chemical fertilizers, has resulted in negative environmental effects, such as increased global warming, a decline in biodiversity, and deterioration of soil quality, such as erosion, compaction, or a decrease in soil organic matter. The amount of global warming index for the production of one ton of peach fruit was calculated to be 120 kg CO₂ equivalent, and the largest share of this index belonged to greenhouse emissions and consumption of diesel fuel and nitrogen fertilizer. The amount of ozone depletion potential for the production of one ton of peaches was calculated as 0.00000712 kilograms to CFC-11 eq. The use of diesel fuel and the use of pesticides has had the greatest effect on this environmental index. The number of environmental indicators such as respiratory organic matter, aquatic environmental toxicity, terrestrial environmental toxicity, and soil acidity were calculated as 0.0212, 0.00676, 0.00141, and 0.593 kg equivalent of BD (dichlorobenzene) respectively, that the consumption of nitrogen fertilizer and the use of agricultural machinery during the planting and harvesting of corn have contributed the most to the distribution of these indicators.
Conclusion
The most important factors in the number of environmental indicators for producing one ton of peach fruit in a year were nitrogen fertilizer, the use of agricultural machinery, and diesel fuel. According to the results obtained and the research conducted in this field, nitrogen fertilizer was the main factor in environmental indicators. For better environmental management of peach production, it is recommended that farmers be encouraged to choose fertilizers with low environmental impacts, such as biofertilizers or chemical fertilizers with a lower environmental burden than nitrogen fertilizers. The use of organic fertilizers can also improve performance and reduce the emission of environmental impacts of chemical fertilizers. Environmental regulations such as labeling food products with environmental impacts can also be considered as a way to reduce the environmental impacts of peach production.