Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutritious?

Re:Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutriti... by rmrm on Monday March 05, 2018 @11:01AM (#16521881)

I believe the root (pun intended) issue is the soil biology. In a no till environment where bacteria and funghi are present and healthy, they make soluable the micronutrients needed by the plant. In an unhealthy soil environment where bacteria and funghi are depleted, the plants are dependent on being fed soluable forms of all nutrients. The fertilization regime likely isnt incorporating them all.

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Re:Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutriti... by Juggerbot on Monday March 05, 2018 @02:06PM (#16523457)

>In an unhealthy soil environment where bacteria and funghi are depleted, the plants are dependent on being fed soluable forms of all nutrients.

I don't think natural soil systems have been able to keep up with the nutrient demands of modern crop production for some decades now.

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Re:Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutriti... by bryanlarsen on Monday March 05, 2018 @11:52AM (#16522349)

In my experience, no till farmers tend to use much more herbicides and pesticides than farmers that employ tillage. And they do appear to have healthier soil.

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Re:Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutriti... by rmrm on Monday March 05, 2018 @11:55AM (#16522365)

herbicides I can understand (if they are killing to clear). Pesticides I cant quite see why theyd use any more. What would the rationale be to drive that?

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Re:Dirt Poor: Have Fruits and Vegetables Become Less Nutriti... by HeyLaughingBoy on Monday March 05, 2018 @06:00PM (#16525356)

My guess (and it's only a guess) would be that the crop residue left behind by no-till harbors more pests than the ground that's been tilled.

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