Integrated Evaluation of Sustainability and Quality of Italian Tomato Cultivars Grown Under Irrigated and Non-Irrigated Systems

This research aimed to assess how irrigation can affect the sustainability and quality of two Italian tomato cultivars: the &ldquo:Riccio di Parma Casertano,&rdquo: which is grown without irrigation, and the &ldquo:Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP,&rdquo: which requires irrigation. Life cycle assessment and water footprint analysis were used for sustainability assessment, while, for quality assessment, the content of bioactive compounds was analyzed by UV-Vis spectrophotometric assays. The results indicate that &lsquo:Riccio di Parma Casertano&rsquo: is a more sustainable cultivar than &lsquo:Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP&rsquo:, with lower environmental impacts in all 18 impact categories, showing reductions ranging from 54.55% to 99.90%. This higher sustainability performance of &ldquo:Riccio di Parma Casertano&rdquo: is also characterized by increases of +32% in total polyphenol content and +43% in total flavonoid content as an adaptive response to water stress compared with &ldquo:Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP&rdquo:. However, &ldquo:Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP&rdquo: has a higher yield and better overall nutritional and functional quality, with higher concentrations of hydrophilic and lipophilic compounds, such as lycopene and &beta:-carotene, due to irrigation. The results, therefore, show how the choice between the two cultivars might depend on a trade-off between sustainability and quality. In particular, &rsquo:Riccio di Parma Casertano&rsquo: could excel in contexts with low water availability while maintaining a good nutritional profile due to the synthesis of bioactive compounds: on the other hand, &ldquo:Piennolo del Vesuvio DOP&rdquo: could offer higher yield and nutritional qualities, although it needs improved agricultural practices to reduce overall environmental impacts.