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BIOAg Topics
Food Quality
Plants require certain levels and ratios of nutients from the soil to grow properly. A nutrient deficiency, such as nitrogen, will show as yellow leaves in the plant and can lower its nutritional quality (e.g. lowered protein in wheat). Nutrient density refers to the amount of nutrients contained per weight of product or per calorie. USDA data show a decline in nutrient density for many foods over the past 50 years. There is now increased research on whether and how agricultural management can play a role in reversing this nutrient density decline. In addition to nutrients (e.g. minerals, vitamins), many foods contain other compounds such as antioxidants that may have important health properties. Again, researchers are studying whether different growing conditions for the plants can change the levels of these compounds in food.
WSU Websites
BIOAg Conferences and Proceedings
The BIOAg program has hosted or contributed to a number of conferences and symposia. Materials resulting from these events include presentations, posters, and proceedings highlighting research progress and results. Materials prepared for conferences often precede formal publications so browse here for emerging research.
WSU Publications
Initial Reflections on the Annals of Internal Medicine Paper
Charles Benbrook; September 2012.
Stability of anthocyanins in frozen and freeze-dried raspberries during long-term storage: In relation to glass transition
Syamaladevi, R. M., Sablani, S. S., Tang, J., Powers, J. and Swanson, B. G. 2011. Journal of Food Science 76: 414-421.
Effects of air and freeze drying on phytochemical content of conventional and organic berries
Sablani, S. S., Andrews, P. K., Davies, N. M., Walters, T., Saez, H., Bastarrachea, L. 2011. Drying Technology 29: 205-216
Effect of thermal treatments on phytochemicals in conventionally and organically grown berries
Sablani, S. S., Andrews, P. K., Davies, N. M., Walters, T., Saez, H., Syamaladevi, R. M., and Mohekar, P. R. 2010. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 90: 769-778
Aging of amorphous raspberry powder: enthalpy relaxation and fragility
Syamaladevi, R. M., Sablani, S. S. and Swanson, B. G. 2010. Journal of Food Engineering 101: 32-40
Yield, Protein and Nitrogen Use Efficiency of Spring Wheat: Evaluating Field-Scale Performance
Chapter 17 in Climate Friendly Farming: Improving the Carbon Footprint of Agriculture in the Pacific Northwest. Full report available at http://csanr.wsu.edu/pages/Climate_Friendly_Farming_Final_Report/.
Nutritional Value of Winter and Spring Wheat: A Comparison of historic and Modern Varieties - Summer 2007
Article in Sustaining the Pacific Northwest Newsletter
The USDA Disconnect: Nutritional Guidelines and Farm Subsidies - September 2005
Article in Sustaining the Pacific Northwest Newsletter
WSU Presentations
Helping Sustain Agriculture in Africa
WSU scientist Lynne Carpenter-Boggs is working with an international group of scientists to help find bean varieties and microbial inoculates that will improve yields on the ancient soils that farms in many parts of Africa must contend with. Dr. Carpenter-Boggs took a Flip camera to Africa and shot some wonderful footage of farms, people and animals.
Can we grow more nutritious fruits and vegetables using organic farming methods?
Organic farmers have claimed for years that better quality soils produce more nutritious foods, but until recently scientific evidence for such claims has been wanting. Recent research of organic farming systems provides some evidence that this claim may be true under certain circumstances. Detractors of organic farming claim that the only reason why organic crops may at times have more phytonutrients than conventional crops is that organic crops are exposed to more stresses. This may be because of the lower nutrient availability of organically approved fertilizers or injury caused by pests and pathogens because of limitations on the pesticides that can be used. To evaluate the claims both for and against, research comparing organic and conventional farming systems are presented, along with a discussion of ways in which more nutritious fruits and vegetables can be grown.
Farming for Food Quality
Symposium proceedings from Vancouver, WA November 2006. Video presentations and PowerPoint available.
Resources
Some WSU Extension websites provide links to external sites for the convenience of users. These external sites are not managed by WSU Extension. Furthermore, WSU Extension does not review, control or take responsibility for the content of these sites, nor do these sites implicitly or explicitly represent official positions and policies of WSU Extension.
National resource links
The following online resources contain a wealth of information on a number of BIOAg topics. Use search fields to narrow results:eXtension, USDA Alternative Farming Systems Information Center, National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (ATTRA) Master Publications List, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) Project Reports, & Natural Resource, Agriculture and Engineering Service (NRAES) Publications.