2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
It is impossible to grow a crop of vegetables without nitrates, but it is possible and necessary to reduce their content as much as possible
Vegetables are healers. They help us to cope with numerous ailments, masks made of them make our skin soft and healthy, and vegetable salads give us real pleasure. But they are also the main sources of nitrates entering the human body, which, being restored to nitrites, cause respiratory depression, a change in the rate of brain biocurrents and the formation of methemoglobin in the blood.
325 mg / day is the amount of nitrates that is easily absorbed in the body, turning into protein, i.e. acceptable dose.
On the basis of scientific data from agricultural institutes, recommendations have been developed for the cultivation of organic vegetables with an optimal nitrate content.
The concentration of nitrates in vegetables during the growth period
In young carrots (obtained by thinning plants), nitrate nitrogen contains an average value of 323 mg / kg, and during the period of autumn harvesting this figure averages 164 mg / kg.
When growing beets, an increased content of nitrates was noted in young vegetables, and ripe root crops contained 2, 3 times less nitrates.
In white cabbage variety Podarok, the amount of nitrates from 1572 mg / kg in July decreased to 425 mg / kg in September.
In onions, it decreased by half by the end of August compared with the middle of July.
Thus, the highest amount of nitrates in root crops, cabbage and onions is found in the first periods of growth. With age, the amount of nitrate decreases.
A different pattern was revealed in the analysis of cucumber fruits: at all periods of accounting, young cucumbers contained less nitrates than ripe or overripe fruits.
The daily rhythm of nitrate accumulation
The maximum value of nitrate nitrogen in salads, perennial onions occurs in the morning. a decrease in its quantity is observed already at noon hours. This is explained by the fact that under conditions of active crop formation, the flow of water and mineral salts from the soil into plants occurs not only during the day, but also at night. However, in the daytime, these compounds are actively consumed by plants for the synthesis of organic substances, and the more illumination, the more actively this process is. At night, as well as in the evening, when the activity of solar insolation decreases, there is an accumulation of free nitrates in vegetables.
Influence of sowing dates on nitrate content
The accumulation of nitrates is influenced by the timing of sowing and planting, since in these cases the growth and development of plants occurs under unequal conditions of temperature and soil moisture.
At late sowing dates, carrot roots do not ripen by the time of harvesting, they continue to grow actively and therefore contain more nitrates.
Late planting of cabbage has an adverse effect on the accumulation of nitrates. When planting is delayed for two weeks (against the optimal planting time), more than twice as much nitrate accumulates in the heads of cabbage for harvesting. This is due to the non-ripening of cabbage at the time of harvest.
The data obtained indicate the need to comply with the optimal timing of sowing, planting vegetable crops. That makes it possible for plants to ripen well with a low nitrate content.
Vegetable growers should also pay attention to the fact that when sowing radishes in May, the content of nitrates in the finished product is significantly lower than when sowing in late July-early August, since in August the intensity and duration of lighting decreases.
Influence of air and soil temperature on the accumulation of nitrates in vegetables
The content of nitrates in perennial vegetables (sorrel, lovage, perennial onions) depends on the air and soil temperature in the pre-harvest period: if 2-3 days before harvesting it was warm (20-22 degrees C), the amount of nitrate nitrogen in the product turns out to several times higher compared to cool (10-12 degrees C) weather.
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