In this study, the contents of water-soluble metabolites and mineral nutrients were measured in
tomatoes cultured using organic and chemical fertilizers, with or without pesticides. Mineral nutrients
and water-soluble metabolites were determined by inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry
and 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectrometry, respectively, and results were analysed by
principal components analysis (PCA). The mineral nutrient and water-soluble metabolite profiles differed
between organic and chemical fertilizer applications, which accounted for 88.0% and 55.4%, respectively,
of the variation. 1H–13C-hetero-nuclear single quantum coherence experiments identified aliphatic
protons that contributed to the discrimination of PCA. Pesticide application had little effect on mineral
nutrient content (except Fe and P), but affected the correlation between mineral nutrients and
metabolites. Differences in the content of mineral nutrients and water-soluble metabolites resulting from
different fertilizer and pesticide applications probably affect tomato quality