572 Quality of organic and conventional carrots I. Bender 1 , M. Ess 1 , D. Matt 2 , U. Moor 2 , T. Tõnutare 2 and A. Luik 2 1 Jõgeva Plant Breeding Institute, Aamisepa 1, 48309 Jõgeva alevik, Estonia; e-mail: Ingrid.Bender@jpbi.ee 2 Institute of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Kreutzwaldi 64, 51014 Tartu, Estonia Abstract. At Jõgeva Plant Breeding Institute, cultivation of the Estonian carrot variety ‘Jõgeva Nantes’ conventionally (with application of mineral fertilizers: N 115, P 40 and K 152 kg ha -1 and pesticides: Fenix, Actara 25 WG, Agil and Signum) and organically (compost, Humistar, agryl cover) was compared. Marketable yield of organic carrots was 11% higher than that of conventionally grown carrots. Conventional carrots contained pesticide residues and had significantly higher nitrate concentration than organic carrots. Contents of dry matter, total sugars, soluble solids, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium did not significantly differ between carrots between cultivation systems. The contents of ß-carotene, vitamin C and nitrogen were significantly lower in organically grown than in conventionally grown carrot. Key words: agryl cover, ß-carotene, calcium, dry matter, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, soluble solids, total antioxidant capacity, total sugars, vitamin C, yield INTRODUCTION In Estonia, as in other European countries, targets have been set to upgrade domestic organic production, including that of vegetables. This is driven by consumer demand to buy organic food primarily for health-related reasons. Preferred products are organic vegetables and fruits (Pehme et al., 2007). Therefore the quality of raw products is an important aspect. Quality of locally produced organic vegetables is still very poorly studied. Therefore the aim of the present study was to evaluate how the yield and quality of carrots is affected by production methods – organic versus conventional, according to principles of good agricultural practice. MATERIALS AND METHODS The field experiment was carried out at Jõgeva Plant Breeding Institute (26°24’E, 58°44’N) in 2008. Carrots were cultivated under conventional and organic conditions on plots of 100 m 2 , with four replications of each treatment. For two years before the experiment, cereals were cultivated on the area according to the EU regulations on organic production (Council Regulation No. 843/2007). Soil at the site was classified as soddy-podzolic sandy loam. A soil sample was analysed before establishment of the experiment using the following methods: pH – ISO 10390, P, K, Ca, Mg, Cu, Mn – Mehlich III, B – by Berger and Truogi and C org – by NIRS. The following results were Agronomy Research 7(Special issue II), 572–577, 2009