Plant Nutrition Essential to Preserving Human Health

The International Plant Nutrition Institute detailed the benefits of increasing major categories of proteins, vitamins and minerals in crops in a recent newsletter.

Farmers can reduce environmental impact by using management tools that can identify the best source, rate, timing and placement of fertilizers containing nitrogen and other proteins, vitamins and minerals to increase quality.

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The nutritional value of using nitrogen on corn and wheat is evident but requires some work. Because nitrogen is a major part of protein, applying the fertilizer to cereals such wheat and corn adds to the amount of protein produced. The nutritional value in corn and wheat is limited to lowering lysine, an essential amino acid, according to IPNI. Using nitrogen fertilizers can increase market value and health-promotion of fruits and vegetables through the increased concentrations of carotenoids.

Potassium and sulfur use in muskmelons such as watermelons and cantaloupes enhance sweetness, texture, color, vitamin C, beta-carotene and folic acid contents, according to IPNI. In addition, increases in isoflavone concentrations of soybeans and lycopene in grapefruit and tomatoes is also evident.

Supplementing crops with nutrients is crucial to improving human health in countries such as Bangladesh and Nigeria where malnutrition is common, and becoming cognizant of plant nutrition impacts on human health is one way to improve world’s agricultural systems, according to IPNI.

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