Composition of Florida-Grown Vegetables

I. Mineral Composition of Commercially Grown Vege-
 tables in Florida as Affected by Treatment, Soil
 Type and Locality

 G. T. SIMS I and G. M. VOLK

 Introduction
 Recognition of the importance of mineral composition of food
plants in nutritional diseases of man has given added emphasis
to the need for accurate comprehensive data on the mineral
composition of commercially produced vegetables. Soil composi-
tion usually is the most important of the environmental factors
causing variation in mineral composition of plants, with climate
and season of secondary but still significant effect. The latter
possibly may have relatively more importance in influencing or-
ganic composition under Florida conditions (14).2
 Data on the chemical composition of vegetables are discussed
by localities because there exists a general similarity of cropping
season, cultural practices and, to a certain extent, soils. Data
on soil type and composition, and the composition of the crop
grown thereon, are presented by individual samples.
 A comparison of the mineral quality of marketed vegetables
grown in different areas of the United States is difficult because
of the scarcity of comparable data. The average mineral com-
position of Florida vegetables was as often above as below that
reported for other sources. Extensive data of the type reported
herein for Florida must be obtained for other areas before such
a comparison is valid. Iron data especially are questionable be-
cause of widespread use of iron mills for sample preparation.
 Plant analysis has been used most frequently in the past to
determine plant response to soil condition for the purpose of
increasing production. Such data do not represent the composi-
tion of products found on the market and, therefore, are of
limited value in human nutritional work. For this reason more
emphasis should be placed on the composition of the products
produced under commercial practices. Methods of treatment,

 1 Formerly Associate Chemist, Florida Agricultural Experiment Station.
 Italic figures in parentheses refer to Literature Cited in the back of
this bulletin.