Crop Nutritional Quality Research Articles

Compost benefits for agriculture evaluated by life cycle assessment. A review

As compost use in agriculture increases, there is an urgent need to evaluate the specific environmental benefits and impacts as compared with other types of fertilizers and soil amendments. While the environmental impacts associated with compost production have been successfully assessed in previous studies, the assessment of the benefits of compost on plant and soil has been only partially included in few published works. In the present study, we reviewed the recent progresses made in the quantification of the positive effects associated to biowaste compost use on land by using life cycle assessment (LCA). A total of nine environmental benefits were identified in an extensive literature review and quantitative figures for each benefit were drawn and classified into short-, mid-, and long-term. The major findings are the following: (1) for nutrient supply and carbon sequestration, the review showed that both quantification and impact assessment could be performed, meaning that these two benefits should be regularly included in LCA studies. (2) For pest and disease suppression, soil workability, biodiversity, crop nutritional quality, and crop yield, although the benefits were proved, quantitative figures could not be provided, either because of lack of data or because the benefits were highly variable and dependent on specific local conditions. (3) The benefits on soil erosion and soil moisture could be quantitatively addressed, but suitable impact assessment methodologies were not available. (4) Weed suppression was not proved. Different research efforts are required for a full assessment of the benefits, apart from nutrient supply and carbon sequestration; additional impact categories—dealing with phosphorus resources, biodiversity, soil losses, and water depletion—may be needed for a comprehensive assessment of compost application. Several of the natural mechanisms identified and the LCA procedures discussed in the paper could be extensible to other organic fertilizers and compost from other feedstocks.

Grafting under water stress in tomato cherry: improving the fruit yield and quality

AbstractAs the concentrations of essential vitamins and minerals and a number of other health‐promoting compounds are often low in stable crops, research is under way to understand and increase synthesis of phytochemicals in order to improve crop nutritional quality. The question addressed in this study is whether shoot genotypes or root genotypes with tolerant drought character are able to increase the fruit quality and production under moderate water stress. Zarina (drought tolerant) and Josefina (drought sensitive) were grafted self and reciprocally. The results showed that the use of cv. Zarina (drought tolerant) as rootstock (Zar × Jos) results in a greater number of fruits under water‐stress conditions, a moderate increase in some antioxidant compounds, such as ascorbic acid, phenols and flavonoids and lycopene and β‐carotene, and Zar × Jos showed high levels of sugars and organic acids, sweetness index and sugars : acids ratio, as well as important minerals, such as K and Mg, which could increase its nutritional quality under stress conditions. Overall, the use of drought‐tolerant rootstock could provide a useful tool to improve fruit yield and quality of cherry tomato fruit under moderate water stress, which in turn could mean lower costs in the use of irrigation water.

NOVEL METHOD OF MICRONUTRIENT APPLICATION INCREASES RADISH (RAPHANUS SATIVUS) AND SHIRONA (BRASSICA RAPA VAR. PEKINENSIS) BIOMASS

The practice of enriching nutrient-poor soils with large quantities of chemical fertilizer has contributed significantly to the boost in agricultural productivity witnessed over the last century. Plants also require minute quantities of micronutrients, such as iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn). Inadequate micronutrient concentrations in the soil are a crucial problem for crop production that can severely reduce yield and nutritional quality of crops. Modern agriculture can further promote micronutrient deficiency through excessive irrigation and imbalanced application of chemical fertilizers. Anecdotal evidence suggested that irrigation of crops with FFC H2O, a commercial product currently utilized by the agriculture, fishery, and food industries in Japan, improved crop yields. Our study quantified the biomass of radish and shirona plants watered with FFC H2O. These plants developed larger leaves, greater dry weight, and longer stems than plants watered with deionized H2O. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy revealed the presence of several biologically relevant micronutrients in FFC H2O. Radish plants watered with an FFC H2O solution that lacked micronutrients, or nutrient solutions that lacked either iron or zinc failed to increase plant size relative to controls. These results provide quantitative evidence that FFC H2O operates via micronutrient supplementation, and may alleviate micronutrient deficiencies through the addition of critical elements such as Fe and Zn. FFC H2O offers agriculturalists a simple and effective tool for the fortification of irrigation waters with micronutrients.

The role of biotechnology in ensuring food security and sustainable agriculture

Food security and sustainable agriculture have become a burning issues in the national discuss at all levels of government as plans are being made for a changing global climate and increasing global population. One of the most important environmental challenges facing the developing world is how to meet current food needs without undermining the ability of future generations to meet theirs. Agricultural production must be sufficient to feed us now and in the future. Evidently, the current state of agricultural technology will not suffice to meet the production challenges ahead. Innovative technologies have to be exploited in order to enable sufficient food availability in the future. In the current practice of modern agriculture which relies on high inputs such as fuel-powered tractors, chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides, deploying a smart mix of farming techniques using genetic engineering of biotechnology and integrating same into the traditional smallholders farming system offer a bright prospect of meeting the growing demand for food by improving both yield and nutritional quality of crops and reducing the impact on the environment. Keywords: Biotechnology, food security, sustainable agriculture, developing countries, technology integration, population growth

Effects of fertilization and other agronomic measures on nutritional quality of crops

AbstractCrops, as the basic source of essential substances and nutrients, do not always contain sufficient amounts of these essential nutrients to meet dietary requirements. In this review paper, we discussed the effects of fertilization and other agronomic measures on the nutritional quality of cereal, oilseed and protein crops, tuber plants and vegetables. Research indicates that application of N, P, K and S fertilizers generally increases crop yield as well as nutritional quality. For example, fertilizer increased protein concentration in cereals and pulses, oil concentration in oilseed crops, starch concentration in tubers, and concentration of essential amino acids and vitamins in vegetables. However, excessive fertilizer application, especially N fertilizer, can result in undesirable changes such as increases in nitrate, titratable acidity and acid to sugar ratio, while decreasing the concentration of vitamin C, soluble sugar, soluble solids, and Mg and Ca in some crops. Other agronomic measures, such as tillage and crop rotation, organic farming, soil moisture management, and crop breeding and genetic engineering can also have a large effect on food crop quality, though the potential benefits of these measures for improving crop quality has not been fully exploited. Research literature on this subject suggests that more information is needed in order to achieve an increase in the concentration of essential microelements, prevent accumulation of toxic levels of elements such as Cu, Mo, Zn, Ni, Se and nitrate, and other dangerous or toxic substances and elements in crops. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry

From Agronomy and Ecophysiology to Molecular Genetics for Improving Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Crops

Summary Improved nitrogen use efficiency (NUE: capacity to produce a supplement of yield for each added unit of N fertilizer) has the potential to enhance yield under low nitrogen (N) and thereby improve crop nutritional quality while reducing ground water contamination by nitrates. In order to realize potential benefits with respect to sustainable agriculture, we need to identify the physiological, biochemical and molecular mechanisms controlling component processes, including inorganic N uptake, N reduction, N partitioning between roots and shoots and N-incorporation into organic molecules as a function of carbon availability. Moreover, sustained decreases in fertilizer input and improved or stabilized yield require an improved understanding of the transition between N assimilation and N remobilization during plant development. Recent advances in plant molecular biotechnology, combined with modern physiological and biochemical studies, have expanded our understanding of the regulatory mechanisms controlling the primary steps of inorganic N assimilation and the subsequent biochemical pathways involved in N supply for secondary metabolism. In parallel, a number of physiological and agronomic studies have been undertaken to identify which are the limiting steps in the control of N uptake, assimilation and recycling during plant growth and development. Although they have been very informative in defining key elements of the economy of N, our knowledge of the regulation of N acquisition and management is still fragmentary. This is partly because most biochemical and molecular studies were designed to identify the key physiological and morphological traits involved, but were rarely placed in a whole plant or an agronomic context. To help fill the gap that still exists between molecular and agronomic studies, we describe in this chapter how the understanding of the control of N assimilation has increased through the use of whole plant physiology, transgenic technology, quantitative genetics and agronomic approaches. In addition, one of the goals of this review is to obtain a more integrated view of the regulation of N management from the gene to the field within the plant or within a particular organ. Prospects for future development and applications in crop improvement are explored.

Nutritional genomics: manipulating plant micronutrients to improve human health.

The nutritional health and well-being of humans are entirely dependent on plant foods either directly or indirectly when plants are consumed by animals. Plant foods provide almost all essential vitamins and minerals and a number of other health-promoting phytochemicals. Because micronutrient concentrations are often low in staple crops, research is under way to understand and manipulate synthesis of micronutrients in order to improve crop nutritional quality. Genome sequencing projects are providing novel approaches for identifying plant biosynthetic genes of nutritional importance. The term "nutritional genomics" is used to describe work at the interface of plant biochemistry, genomics, and human nutrition.

Restoring the productivity of marginal soils with organic amendments

AbstractThe mining of sand and gravel deposits and excavation oftopsoil in urban areas have left extensive tracts of exposed subsoils that do not support plant growth because of adverse soil chemical and physical properties. Such degraded and marginal soils, or spoils, are infertile, low in organic matter, often acidic, and subject to severe erosion and surface runoff Many of these lands are owned by small and part-time farmers who wish to restore their aesthetic value and agricultural productivity. Research has shown that with liming and the proper use of organic amendments such as animal manures and sewage sludge compost, these lands can be restored to a high level of productivity in as little as three years. The methods and techniques for improving the productivity of marginal soils described in this paper can be of considerable benefit to some farmers in developed and developing countries where there is no other choice but to farm marginal soils because of the lack of highly productive agricultural lands. With increased efforts to restore the productivity of degraded and marginal soils through the use of organic amendments, conservation tillage, and crop rotations, future research should address the effect of best management practices on crop yields, the nutritional quality of crops, and the bioavailability of plant nutrients to both animals and humans.