Polyphenol and l-ascorbic acid content in tomato as influenced by high lycopene genotypes and organic farming at different environments

•The cultivar ‘Kalvert’ outstood for the accumulation of most of polyphenols.•Genotype has a major effect on the accumulation of studied chemoprotective compounds.•Strong environmental interactions were detected for phenolic content in certain cases.•Effect of organic farming on l-ascorbic was dependent on cultivar and environment. The accumulation of polyphenols and l-ascorbic acid was evaluated under conventional (integrated pest management, IPM) and organic farming, as means to increase the accumulation of chemoprotective compounds. The effect of genotype was considerably higher than the growing system, in fact it is determining. ‘Kalvert’, a high-lycopene cultivar, outstood for the accumulation of most polyphenols, though low-carotenoid cultivars with high accumulation were also detected. Organic farming significantly increased the levels of caffeic acid by 20%, but reduced those of ferulic acid and naringenin by 13% and 15% respectively. A strong interaction with the environment was detected: in Navarra the differences were limited, while in Extremadura lower contents of ferulic acid and higher contents of chlorogenic acid and rutin were found in organic farming for certain cultivars. The effect of organic farming on l-ascorbic acid was dependent on cultivar and environment and it only led to an increase in Extremadura by 58%.