Nitrogen contribution in plants: recent agronomic approaches to improve nitrogen use efficiency

Summary

This narrative review examines recent agronomic approaches to improve nitrogen use efficiency in crop production, addressing the widespread challenge of excessive and inefficient nitrogen fertiliser use in modern agriculture. The authors synthesise evidence on how nitrogen affects crop physiology and growth, and evaluate contemporary management strategies—including precision agriculture, drip fertigation, and crop modelling—that may reduce production costs and environmental pollution whilst maintaining yield sustainability. The review positions improved NUE as central to mitigating agriculture's impact on land and water resources under increasing population pressure.

Regional applicability

The findings are globally relevant and applicable to United Kingdom arable farming. UK cereal and arable producers face similar regulatory pressures (e.g., the Water Environment Regulations and Nitrates Directive) to reduce nitrogen losses, making the reviewed strategies for improving NUE—particularly precision agriculture and conservation approaches—directly transferable to UK farming contexts and policy objectives.

Key measures

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE); crop growth and development responses to nitrogen; physiological processes affected by nitrogen; effectiveness of agronomic management practices

Outcomes reported

This review synthesises recent agronomic progress in improving nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) through practices including site-specific nitrogen management, enhanced fertiliser use efficiency, conservation approaches, drip fertigation, crop modelling, and precision agriculture. The paper examines both the morphological and physiological effects of nitrogen on crops and discusses agronomic strategies for achieving higher NUE.

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