Scientists fine-tune iodine and potassium levels in designer veggies without any soil

The next agricultural revolution is coming!

"... Next up, the researchers, who hail from Italy's Institute of Sciences of Food Production, the National Council of Research, and the University of Bari Aldo Moro, plan to turn their attention to changing the nutrient profile of edible crops by directly altering the plants' metabolic pathways, rather than simply changing their growth medium. ..."

From the abstract:

"BACKGROUND

The awareness of the importance of following dietary recommendations that meet specific biological requirements related to an individual's health status has significantly increased interest in personalized nutrition. The aim of this research was to test agronomic protocols based on soilless cultivation for providing consumers with new dietary sources of iodine (I), as well as alternative vegetable products to limit dietary potassium (K) intake; proposed cultivation techniques were evaluated according to their suitability to obtain such products without compromising agronomic performance.

RESULTS

Two independent experiments, focused on I and K respectively, were conducted in a commercial greenhouse specializing in soilless production. Four different species were cultivated using three distinct concentrations of I (0, 1.5 and 3 mg L−1) and K (0, 60 and 120 mg L−1). Microgreens grown in I-rich nutrient solution accumulate more I, and the increase is dose-dependent. Compared to unbiofortified microgreens, the treatments with 1.5 and 3 mg L−1 of I resulted in 4.5 and 14 times higher I levels, respectively. Swiss chard has the highest levels of K (14 096 mg kg−1 of FW), followed by rocket, pea and radish. In radish, rocket and Swiss chard, a total reduction of K content in the nutrient solution (0 mg L−1) resulted in an average reduction of 45% in K content.

CONCLUSION

It is possible to produce I-biofortified microgreens to address I deficiency, and K-reduced microgreens for chronic kidney disease-affected people. Species selection is crucial to customize nutritional profiles according to specific dietary requirements due to substantial mineral content variations across different species."

Scientists fine-tune iodine and potassium levels in designer veggies With an eye toward creating food for people with certain health conditions, scientists in Italy grew radish, pea, arugula, and Swiss chard plants, precisely controlling certain nutrients. And they did it without any soil.

Soilless cultivation systems to produce tailored microgreens for specific nutritional needs (open access)

Credits: Human Progress Weekly Progress Roundup