Agricultural practices for enhanced human health

Phytochemicals in vegetables are known to be responsible for protective effects against many human diseases, including cardiovascular diseases and different types of cancer. Environmental conditions and physiological factors may modify the amounts of these compounds present in vegetables and fruits, but also crop management strategies could increase the production of phytochemicals. Therefore, the effects of mineral nutrition, soil composition and water content on the production of phytochemicals have been considered in the development of different fertilisation strategies, efficient water management and techniques such as grafting. Finally, the contents of health-promoting compounds in vegetables and fruits depend both quantitatively and qualitatively on their genetic bases. Thus, conventional breeding and genetic modification have been developed as new methodologies to enhance the nutritional properties of plants. M. C. Martínez-Ballesta, L. López-Pérez, M. Hernández, C. López-Berenguer, N. Fernández-García contributed equally.