Enhancing nutritional quality of vegetables through sustainable soil microbial approaches

Abstract

The long-term use of nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers in vegetable production has led to a decline in essential minerals and organoleptic quality. The study examined the effects of varying proportions of chemical and organic nutrient sources, with or without plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPM) inoculation, on vegetable nutritional quality. Results indicate that replacing chemical fertilizers with organic manures and microbial consortia significantly enhances dietary value, with mean increase in crude fat (37.78%), crude fiber (10.82%), total carbohydrates (0.73%), total sugars (78.10%), calcium (10.83%), phosphorus (8.75%), iron (46.63%), zinc (53.92%), magnesium (6.80%), nitrogen (15.95%), and potassium (5.55%). Additionally, organoleptic scores improved by 15.69%, while in-vitro protein and starch digestibility increased by 11.04 and 11.54%, respectively, over four years. In conclusion, organic nutrition combined with PGPMs effectively restores nutritional density and organoleptic quality while mitigating nutrient dilution in vegetables, ensuring better human nutrition.