Nitrate Accumulation and Vegetable Quality

Nitrogen is the main growth-limiting factor in most field crops. Farmers therefore use manure and nitrogen-based fertilizers to boost crop yields resulting vegetables accumulating high levels of nitrate which is now a worldwide problem. Ingested nitrate is converted in saliva and the gastrointestinal tract to the more toxic Nitrite and can lead to severe pathogenesis. The maximum allowable nitrate levels in vegetables should not exceed levels that reflect good agricultural practices. Therefore, an integrated collaboration among agronomists, physiologists, molecular biologists, farmers, consumers and policy-makers is the need of the hour and may yield satisfactory results towards minimizing accumulation of nitrate in plants and its subsequent consumption by human beings.