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a b s t r a c tThere is extensive evidence that rats are able to sense toxicants and essential nutrients in their food and avoid foods that contain these substances. This ability was employed to assess whether the two major management factors soil fertility management and crop protection affected the food preferences of laboratory rats. Samples of wheat grown in 2005 and 2007 under four combinations of these management factors in the Nafferton Factorial Systems Comparison at Northumberland UK were used as experimental diets in food preference tests. In both years, the rats preferred organically fertilized wheat. The influence of organic and conventional crop protection was inconsistent. But a statistically significant interaction of soil fertility management and crop protection was observed: under organic soil fertility management there was generally no difference between the two crop protection methods but under conventional soil fertility management either the combination with organic crop protection (2005) or the fully conventional combination (2007) resulted in the most disliked food. In conclusion, the findings emphasize the role of soil fertility management for producing food of not only a quality that was preferred by rats but also for a high quality of the organic production system in general.

a b s t r a c tA dietary intervention study was conducted to analyse the effects of compound feeds based on crops produced in two consecutive growing seasons under four agronomic regimes that differed in crop protection (organic versus conventional) and fertilization (organic versus conventional) practices, on the growth, body chemical composition, haematological parameters, plasma antioxidant capacity, hormonal balance and immune status of male Wistar rats. The nutritional composition of the compound feeds complied with the nutritional recommendations for rats. In the first season only one generation of rats (F1) was examined whereas in the second season two rat generations (F1 and F2) were studied. The agronomic variables affected markedly the nutritional composition of feeds and there were statistically significant differences in physiological parameters between dietary groups of rats. There were however statistically significant differences in feed composition and in the physiological response of the rats between the two seasons. There were also differences in physiological response between the F1 and F2 generation of rats in the second season, although these animals were fed the same compound feeds. More detailed studies are required to quantify the effect of agronomic factors on the composition of crops and the physiology of rats fed on compound feeds prepared from these crops.

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