Influence of water quality used in irrigation on the sensory properties of olive oil

This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of the quality of water used in irrigating 'Nabali Muhasan' olive trees (Olea europaea L.) grown in an orchard in the north-east of Jordan on the sensory attributes of the produced olive oil. The obtained results revealed the high salinity of the well water used in this experiment. On the other hand, the properties of rain water were significantly better than the standards for ground water, whereas reclaimed wastewater achieved the Jordanian standard, except for Na+ and HCO3-. Olive oils made from trees that received well and rain water, both in 2006 or in 2007 crop seasons were free from any defect and were classified as extra virgin olive oil. On the other hand, the negative attributes fusty, musty, winey and muddy were detected in olive oils from trees receiving reclaimed wastewater in the 2006 crop year; whereas only two negative attributes i.e fusty and musty were detected in the 2007 crop season. However, more research is needed to clarify the suitability of reclaimed wastewater for irrigating olive trees.