Healthier Tomatoes Grown in Seawater

Tomatoes irrigated with diluted seawater grow with significantly higher levels of healthy antioxidant compounds, new research shows.

The option to use salty water on crops might help farmers deal with growing irrigation woes.
Irrigation water, as well as drinking water, is growing scarce and deteriorating in quality around the world.

Nearly 70 percent of all available freshwater is used for agriculture.
Use of water for irrigation has increased globally by more than 60 percent since 1960, according to United Nation statistics.
At the same time, poor irrigation and drainage practices have led to salt buildup in roughly one-eighth of all irrigated land.

The researchers found that growing tomatoes in 10 percent seawater improved antioxidant levels significantly.


SOURCE:
LiveScience.com

This was very interesting to read about.
If we have known that certain crops can grow in seawater this so long,
I really have to wonder why this has'nt been implimented on a large
scale, especially in developing countries.


Comments, Opinions?

Originally posted by iori_komei
I really have to wonder why this has'nt been implimented on a large
scale, especially in developing countries.


Comments, Opinions?

It hasnt and wont be implimented because it is more profitable to sell them tomatoes than it is to teach them to grow tomatoes.

I seem to recall reading about a crystaline/gel type material that retains water and is perfect for growing expansive crops in desert conditions.

Imagine if the water retaining gel was coupled with this new discovery.
We could produce enough super healthy tomatoes in the Sahara alone to feed the world V-8 for three meals a day!

Most plants don't tolerate salt. Some plants tolerate small amounts of salt and fewer still will tolerate large amounts. If you use salt water to irrigate, eventually you will have a salt build up in the soil and make it useless to grow plants. I have heard of farmers that would have problems with salt build up that irrigate near the coast where there would be small amounts of salt water that would come through the irrigation system.

Yeah, that's exactly my thought when I read this. Perhaps this would be more useful for Hydroponics?