Increasing Productivity and Recovering Nutritional, Organoleptic, and Nutraceutical Qualities of Major Vegetable Crops for Better Dietetics
The intensive use of chemical fertilizers for vegetable cultivation to achieve higher productivity causes soil degradation, resulting in an alarming decline (25–50%) in nutritional quality and a reduction in a wide variety of nutritionally essential minerals and nutraceutical compounds in high-yield...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
|
| Series: | Foods |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/254 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832588525943390208 |
|---|---|
| author | Raju Lal Bhardwaj Latika Vyas Mahendra Prakash Verma Suresh Chand Meena Anirudha Chattopadhyay Neeraj Kumar Meena Dan Singh Jakhar Sita Ram Kumawat |
| author_facet | Raju Lal Bhardwaj Latika Vyas Mahendra Prakash Verma Suresh Chand Meena Anirudha Chattopadhyay Neeraj Kumar Meena Dan Singh Jakhar Sita Ram Kumawat |
| author_sort | Raju Lal Bhardwaj |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The intensive use of chemical fertilizers for vegetable cultivation to achieve higher productivity causes soil degradation, resulting in an alarming decline (25–50%) in nutritional quality and a reduction in a wide variety of nutritionally essential minerals and nutraceutical compounds in high-yielding vegetable crops over the last few decades. To restore the physio-chemical and biological qualities of soil as well as the nutritional and nutraceutical qualities of fresh produce, there is a growing desire to investigate the remedial impacts of organic sources of nutrition. This study specifically focused on the impact of six different ratios of chemical fertilizers and organic sources with microbial inoculation on vegetable productivity, nutrition quality, and soil health parameters. Results show that replacing chemical fertilizers with organic sources in the presence of a microbial consortium supports the proliferation of the microbial population in the soil rhizosphere and improves the nutritional status and physico-chemical quality of soil, which is the area around the roots of plants where maximum nutrient uptake occurs. This combination of factors significantly recovers overall soil quality, increasing crop productivity by 13.58 to 18.32 percent in tomato, brinjal, and okra. Experimental findings likewise indicate that an assortment of organic sources with a microbial consortium significantly recovers the abundance of beneficial microbes and earthworms in the rhizosphere, which leads to an improvement in nutritional, organoleptic, and nutraceutical quality, with higher antioxidant contents in all three vegetables grown in arid climate conditions. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f85e9516fe6941cd8e9021ca307445a2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2304-8158 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Foods |
| spelling | doaj-art-f85e9516fe6941cd8e9021ca307445a22025-01-24T13:33:02ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-01-0114225410.3390/foods14020254Increasing Productivity and Recovering Nutritional, Organoleptic, and Nutraceutical Qualities of Major Vegetable Crops for Better DieteticsRaju Lal Bhardwaj0Latika Vyas1Mahendra Prakash Verma2Suresh Chand Meena3Anirudha Chattopadhyay4Neeraj Kumar Meena5Dan Singh Jakhar6Sita Ram Kumawat7College of Agriculture, Agriculture University, Sumerpur-Pali 306902, Jodhpur, IndiaDirectorate of Extension Education, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, Udaipur 313001, Rajasthan, IndiaCollege of Agriculture, Sumerpur 306902, Rajasthan, IndiaCollege of Agriculture, Sumerpur 306902, Rajasthan, IndiaPulses Research Station, Sardarkrushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar 385506, Gujarat, IndiaCollege of Agriculture, SKN Agriculture University, Jobner 303329, Rajasthan, IndiaAgricultural Research Station, Agriculture University, Mandor 342304, Jodhpur, IndiaAgricultural Research Sub-Station, Agriculture University, Sumerpur-Pali 306902, Jodhpur, IndiaThe intensive use of chemical fertilizers for vegetable cultivation to achieve higher productivity causes soil degradation, resulting in an alarming decline (25–50%) in nutritional quality and a reduction in a wide variety of nutritionally essential minerals and nutraceutical compounds in high-yielding vegetable crops over the last few decades. To restore the physio-chemical and biological qualities of soil as well as the nutritional and nutraceutical qualities of fresh produce, there is a growing desire to investigate the remedial impacts of organic sources of nutrition. This study specifically focused on the impact of six different ratios of chemical fertilizers and organic sources with microbial inoculation on vegetable productivity, nutrition quality, and soil health parameters. Results show that replacing chemical fertilizers with organic sources in the presence of a microbial consortium supports the proliferation of the microbial population in the soil rhizosphere and improves the nutritional status and physico-chemical quality of soil, which is the area around the roots of plants where maximum nutrient uptake occurs. This combination of factors significantly recovers overall soil quality, increasing crop productivity by 13.58 to 18.32 percent in tomato, brinjal, and okra. Experimental findings likewise indicate that an assortment of organic sources with a microbial consortium significantly recovers the abundance of beneficial microbes and earthworms in the rhizosphere, which leads to an improvement in nutritional, organoleptic, and nutraceutical quality, with higher antioxidant contents in all three vegetables grown in arid climate conditions.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/254chemical fertilizermicroorganismsorganic sourcesplant growth-promoting microorganismssoil biodiversity |
| spellingShingle | Raju Lal Bhardwaj Latika Vyas Mahendra Prakash Verma Suresh Chand Meena Anirudha Chattopadhyay Neeraj Kumar Meena Dan Singh Jakhar Sita Ram Kumawat Increasing Productivity and Recovering Nutritional, Organoleptic, and Nutraceutical Qualities of Major Vegetable Crops for Better Dietetics Foods chemical fertilizer microorganisms organic sources plant growth-promoting microorganisms soil biodiversity |
| title | Increasing Productivity and Recovering Nutritional, Organoleptic, and Nutraceutical Qualities of Major Vegetable Crops for Better Dietetics |
| title_full | Increasing Productivity and Recovering Nutritional, Organoleptic, and Nutraceutical Qualities of Major Vegetable Crops for Better Dietetics |
| title_fullStr | Increasing Productivity and Recovering Nutritional, Organoleptic, and Nutraceutical Qualities of Major Vegetable Crops for Better Dietetics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Increasing Productivity and Recovering Nutritional, Organoleptic, and Nutraceutical Qualities of Major Vegetable Crops for Better Dietetics |
| title_short | Increasing Productivity and Recovering Nutritional, Organoleptic, and Nutraceutical Qualities of Major Vegetable Crops for Better Dietetics |
| title_sort | increasing productivity and recovering nutritional organoleptic and nutraceutical qualities of major vegetable crops for better dietetics |
| topic | chemical fertilizer microorganisms organic sources plant growth-promoting microorganisms soil biodiversity |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/2/254 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT rajulalbhardwaj increasingproductivityandrecoveringnutritionalorganolepticandnutraceuticalqualitiesofmajorvegetablecropsforbetterdietetics AT latikavyas increasingproductivityandrecoveringnutritionalorganolepticandnutraceuticalqualitiesofmajorvegetablecropsforbetterdietetics AT mahendraprakashverma increasingproductivityandrecoveringnutritionalorganolepticandnutraceuticalqualitiesofmajorvegetablecropsforbetterdietetics AT sureshchandmeena increasingproductivityandrecoveringnutritionalorganolepticandnutraceuticalqualitiesofmajorvegetablecropsforbetterdietetics AT anirudhachattopadhyay increasingproductivityandrecoveringnutritionalorganolepticandnutraceuticalqualitiesofmajorvegetablecropsforbetterdietetics AT neerajkumarmeena increasingproductivityandrecoveringnutritionalorganolepticandnutraceuticalqualitiesofmajorvegetablecropsforbetterdietetics AT dansinghjakhar increasingproductivityandrecoveringnutritionalorganolepticandnutraceuticalqualitiesofmajorvegetablecropsforbetterdietetics AT sitaramkumawat increasingproductivityandrecoveringnutritionalorganolepticandnutraceuticalqualitiesofmajorvegetablecropsforbetterdietetics |