Study: Organic Tomatoes Accumulate More Vitamin C, Sugars Than Conventionally Grown Fruit

[Emily]

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/02/130220184945.htm

Organic Tomatoes Accumulate More Vitamin C, Sugars Than Conventionally Grown Fruit

Feb. 20, 2013 ? Tomatoes grown on organic farms accumulate higher concentrations of sugars, vitamin C and compounds associated with oxidative stress compared to those grown on conventional farms, according to research published February 20 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Maria Raquel Alcantara Miranda and colleagues from the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil.
[snip]
They suggest that this increased stress may be the reason organic tomatoes had higher levels sugars, vitamin C and pigment molecules like lycopene, an anti-oxidant compound -- all of which are associated with the biological response to stress. Based on these observations, the authors suggest that growing strategies for fruits and vegetables should aim to balance plant stress with efforts to maximize yield and fruit size, rather than trying to eliminate stress to increase yields.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0056354
Aurelice B. Oliveira, Carlos F. H. Moura, En?as Gomes-Filho, Claudia A. Marco, Laurent Urban, Maria Raquel A. Miranda. The Impact of Organic Farming on Quality of Tomatoes Is Associated to Increased Oxidative Stress during Fruit Development. PLoS ONE, 2013; 8 (2): e56354 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0056354