KPLU Local News
(2010-09-01)
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Farm-workers in an organic strawberry field near Watsonville, Calif.
Photo courtesy Greg Peck/W.S.U.
The benefits of organic fruits are supposed to be: better for the environment and better quality. But those claims are not always supported by solid research. Now, a team from Washington State University has completed what it claims is the most careful study yet.
The scientists worked with major strawberry producers in California, which is "the mecca for strawberry production, certainly in the United States and probably in the world," says John Reganold, professor of crop and soil sciences at WSU in Pullman, Wash. He says 90% of America's strawberries come from the area around Watsonville, Calif.
"You could be in an area where there's literally hundreds of acres of strawberries," he says, growing on small mounds of soil, in neat rows.
Reganold's team found 13 pairs of side-by-side strawberry farms, where organic and conventional strawberries were separated only by a dirt road. "If I were to take you out there and show you this, and say, pick out the organic field, you would d not be able to," because they look identical, at least on the surface.
The strawberries were picked, packaged and shipped to Spokane, all on the same day, so the berries would all be comparable. Reganold's team then ran a series of tests. They found the organic berries were higher in micro-nutrients, including vitamin C and antioxidants. The organic berries lasted up to a day longer on the shelf before getting moldy, which was a surprise. Plus, they have no pesticide residue, and they leave the soil in healthier shape. One test scanned for DNA in the soils, and found much richer biodiversity in the organic soils.
So why isn't everyone eating organic berries? They cost more. Growers have to hand-weed, deal with more pests, and they get typically get about 25% fewer berries per acre than conventional farmers.
One trick all the strawberry farmers use: literally tons of compost per acre on their farms. Up to 10 tons per acre on the organic farms, and 5 tons per acre on the conventional, says Reganold.
The research was published by the Public Library of Science in PLoS ONE.
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