title: Multi-method comparison of carrot quality from a conventional and three organic cropping systems with increasing levels of nutrient recycling.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There is a need to advance the study of the effects of organic and conventional systems on product quality. In particular, little is known about the importance of different farming practices concerning nutrient cycling and the use of external inputs within organic farming for the quality characteristics of the products. In this study the quality characteristics of carrot grown under different farming practices (conventional and three organic cropping systems) over a two-year period were analysed with the aim of discriminating between organic and conventional and investigating the effect of different organic farming practices concerning nutrient recycling and use of external nutrient input.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All quality characteristics measured did not give a clear differentiation between the carrots from the different growing systems, even when multivariate statistical evaluation (principal component analysis) was applied, because of the significance of the differences between the field replicates within each management system and of the seasonality. Only some tendencies were emphasised over the two years that could be related to the fertilisation practices and the external inputs used.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results indicated that it was not possible to discriminate over the years between carrots from conventional and different organic cropping systems even though controlled conditions and a multi-method approach of analysis were adopted.
authors.affiliation: Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione, Rome, Italy. paoletti@inran.it
authors.forename: Flavio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paoletti
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Raffo
authors.forename: Hanne L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Kristensen
authors.forename: Kristian
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thorup-Kristensen
authors.forename: Randi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seljåsen
authors.forename: Torfinn
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Torp
authors.forename: Nicolaas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Busscher
authors.forename: Angelica
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ploeger
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kahl
mesh_terms: D002338:Carotenoids / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D055598:Chemical Phenomena; D018556:Crops, Agricultural / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D018552:Daucus carota / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D003718:Denmark; D005062:European Union; D005308:Fertilizers; D005513:Food Inspection; D063427:Food Quality; D058870:Food, Organic / Q000032:analysis / Q000592:standards; D055772:Green Chemistry Technology; D006801:Humans; D055595:Mechanical Phenomena; D058871:Organic Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism; D025341:Principal Component Analysis; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012677:Sensation; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D002338:Carotenoids