Although fruit grown under sustainable farming conditions is believed to be healthier for humans than is fruit grown by conventional cultivation, little scientific information on the characteristics of fruit produced using these two farming systems is available in Korea. Therefore, weinvestigated fruit quality, total polyphenolic contents, and anti-oxidant activities in ''Niitaka'' pears grown under sustainable and conventional farming management systems. Treatmentsincluded use of a chitin compost admixed with liquid chitin fertilizer (plot A), and use of a chitin compost admixed with liquid chitin fertilizer treated by infrared radiation (plot B). Plots C and D used conventional management systems. Fruit qualities at harvest differed between both sustainable plots A and B and the conventional plots C and D. The average values of firmness and total polyphenolic content in fruit harvested from sustainable plots were not significantly greaterthan those of fruit grownin conventional plots, after 60 days of storage. Fruit grown in all plots had low polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity at harvest but this increased during storage. Fruit from sustainable plot B showed an increased electron donating ability compared with fruit grown using the other systems.