Photo Credit: Nanao Wagatsuma

A study by Dr. Bender and Dr. Ingver at the Jõgeva Plant Breeding Institute looked at how agricultural management affects yield and nutrient content of carrots. They compared marketable yield, vitamin C content, and total sugar content of organic and conventional carrots over three growing seasons in Estonia. Findings showed there were no significant differences in the yields of the organically grown versus the conventionally grown carrots. While there were no nutritional differences between organic and conventional carrots for two of the three years, there were higher vitamin C levels and higher sugars in organic carrots during 2012 and 2010, respectively. This study shows that environmental interactions with management system have the potential to increase crop nutrition during certain years for organically managed produce without compromising yields.