ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the information on the effect of mineral nutrients on plant vitamins. A number of studies indicate that application of fertilizers to plants can change their vitamin content, in some cases by a considerable amount. The majority of the experiments, however, have been conducted with a simultaneous addition of more than one macro-and/or micronutrients to the plants. Increased application of nitrogen fertilizers has been shown by numerous investigators to decrease the content of ascorbic acid in many different fruits and vegetables. Nitrogen fertilizers may also reduce the ascorbic acid concentration in leafy vegetables such as different Brassica species (Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cabbage), chard, and spinach. Heavy use of nitrogen fertilizers on plants, along with decreasing their vitamin C content, may also increase the concentration of NO3 in their edible parts, sometimes to potentially dangerous levels.
