omato is a market gardening product that plays an important nutritional
and economic role in Burkina Faso. However, the bad use of pesticides for its
production could have negative impacts consumers’ health. The objective of
the present study was to assess the concentration of trace metal elements (Pb,
Cd and As), 15N isotopes ( 2 NO− , 3 NO− , 4 NH+ ) and phosphorus ( 24
PO − ) in
tomatoes according to cultivation practices. Thus, three tomato varieties
(Mongal F1, F1 Cobra 26 and Roma F1) were grown using organic and
conventional production methods on 2 sites at Nongr Massom, (commune
of Kadiogo province). The trace metal elements were analyzed using atomic
absorption spectrophotometry, the isotopes 15N ( 2 NO− , 3 NO− , 4 NH+ ) and
phosphorus ( 3
4 PO − ) using standardized methods. Tomatoes from conventional
agriculture had higher levels of trace metal elements (0.163 - 0.298
mg/Kg, 0.082 - 0.146 mg/Kg and 0.018 - 0.032 mg/Kg respectively for Pb, Cd
and As) than those from organic agriculture samples. Concentration of trace
metal is lower for organic production with a reduction of 19.02%, 19.69% and
20.77% for Pb, Cd and As respectively compared to conventional production.High levels were recorded for the Roma F1 variety. The concentrations of
trace metal elements in organic production are lower than the codex standards
(2010) while those in conventional production are higher. These results
could be due to the use of chemical inputs that could have a negative impact
on the nutritional quality of these tomatoes. The concentration of trace metal
elements in tomato fruits is strongly correlated by production method and
less by the variety (genetic).

Tomato, Metal Trace