Straw poll

Organic strawberry farms produce higher quality fruit and higher quality soil than conventional farms, a study in California has found.

The organic strawberries had higher concentrations of antioxidants and vitamin C and survived longer without rotting, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Organic strawberries impressed the taste testers, and the organically managed soil had a wider array of microbes and showed more resilience to stress, said the research team, which included ecologists, food chemists and soil scientists.

“Almost every major indicator is favouring the organic strawberries,” said lead author John Reganold, a student of sustainable agriculture at Washington State University.

However, the organic strawberries didn’t win on every count. They were 13.4 per cent smaller than their conventional counterparts and contained less potassium and phosphorus. They also came from farms producing smaller yields.

The full study is in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS ONE. 

Photo: SIMON WEBSTER