Organic strawberries much better than conventional strawberries--study
POSTED September 4, 2010 - 15:07 | POSTED BY neha gupta
Last edited by Silky Chandvani on September 4, 2010 - 15:45
Organically grown strawberries contain higher concentration of antioxidants and vitamin C as compared to the strawberries grown the traditional way.
As of now, the nutritional and environmental benefits of organic farming apply only to strawberries.
However, the research points that it can hold true for other crops as well.
"Almost every major indicator is favoring the organic strawberries," said lead author John Reganold, who studies sustainable agriculture at Washington State University in Pullman.
The study details
For the study, strawberries grown on 13 conventional and 13 organic fields, with organic/conventional field pairs located adjacently in order to control for soil type and weather patterns were studied by the researchers.
The strawberries were grown from repeated harvests over a two year period.
They were then picked, transported, and stored under identical conditions to replicate retail practices.
Revelations of the study
Although no fungicides were used on the fields, organic strawberries showed less instances of post-harvest fungal rots than conventional strawberries, which indicated that organic systems help defend plants against infection through systemic-acquired resistance rather than chemical inputs.
The organic strawberries were high in antioxidants, vitamin C, and total phenolics.
Vitamin C present in strawberries is known to have a direct, negative effect on cancer cell growth.
Though little difference was found between the 2 varieties in terms of taste, the organic ones were sweeter, revealed consumer sensory panels.
A DNA analysis revealed that the organically managed soil had a larger array of microbes, an indication that the ecosystem was more resilient.
The organic strawberries were also safer for the environment as the organic fields contained significantly higher amounts of nutrients, despite the conventional practice of spraying soils with synthetic fertilizers.
Moreover, the organic soil had higher levels of zinc, boron, sodium, and iron as compared to the conventional soil.
Organic soils also performed better through a number of biological properties, such as enzyme activities, micro-nutrient levels, and carbon sequestration.
The results were published in the journal 'PLoS One.'
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