---
title: Nitrate toxicity in Banana - Unknown side of Nitrogen
description: Nitrate in our crops is a class-1 carcinogen. It doesn't matter if you do Organic / Natural / Chemical farming. If plant absorbed nitrates are not converted in amino-acids, it will cause cancer in humans.
category: science-deep-dives
author: Ravishankar Karuppiah
published_at: 2026-03-21T15:35:05.552+00:00
canonical: https://newviva.in/blog/nitrate-toxicity-in-banana
---

# Nitrate toxicity in Banana - Unknown side of Nitrogen

**Published on:** 3/21/2026
**Category:** science deep dives
**Author:** Ravishankar Karuppiah

---

## The Hidden Danger in Your Banana

This is the nutrient analysis on a banana (from US). Take a look at nitrate level. The desired or the maximum level of nitrate that we can have is **3 PPM** but this crop had around **9800+% more** of nitrates. This is extremely, extremely high. Nitrate level more than 2-3 ppm is a Class-1 carcinogen for humans.

### Why This Happens

It doesn't matter if you apply Panchakavya or urea. Plants take nitrogen as only nitrates from both these inputs. For nitrates to get converted into amino acid, the plant needs:
- Iron
- Manganese
- Magnesium
- Molybdenum
- Sulphur

If any of these nutrients is not available, nitrate will stay as it is and when it moves to the grain/vegetable/fruit, it'll be a cancer-causing compound for us. This is a huge problem both in our current organic farming and chemical farming models.

### The Solution

**Regenerative Agriculture** is the only solution to this urgent problem and **New ViVa Bio Nutrients** is working to take this science into our farming in Tamilnadu and beyond. This is the only future of Agriculture.