The hydroponic systems with recirculation of nutrient
solution save water and fertilizer, but over time it is
difficult to maintain the nutritional balance and control
diseases that attack the roots, causing lower performance
compared to systems where the solution is not recirculated.
The objective of this study was to compare the water use
efficiency and nutrients, as well as the yield in growing
tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.), between open and closed
hydroponic systems using a crop management strategy based
on short cycles, by the pruning at three clusters per plant.
The experimental design was randomized blocks with five
replications and five treatments: 1) beds without recirculation
of drainage (open bed); 2) beds with recirculation of drainage
(closed bed); 3) bags without recirculation of drainage (open
bag); 4) bags with recirculation of drains (closed bag), 5)
deep hydroponics. With the data an ANOVA was performed
and means were compared using the Tukey test (p0.05).
Morphological traits, yield, water use and fertilizers were
measured. The highest yields were obtained with deep
hydroponics (16.7 kg m2
) and with closed bags (15.3 kg
m2
) in a crop cycle of four months. The fertilizer savings
(K, Ca, N and P) in recirculation systems with substrate was
41 % and 35 % of water in relation to the systems without
recirculation.