Optimizing nitrogen fertilizer use for more grain and less pollution

Optimal nitrogen (N) management is critical for efficient crop production and agricultural pollution control. Approximate 210–220 kg ha−1 N fertilizer was applied in millions of small plots through broadcasting way in China, resulting in over and loss of N fertilizers. However, it is difficult to implement advanced management practices on smallholder farms due to a lack of knowledge. Here, using 35,502 on-farm fertilization experiments, we demonstrated that smallholders in China could actually produce more grain with less N fertilizer use only through optimizing N application rate. The yields of wheat, maize and rice were shown to increase between 10% and 19% while N application rates were reduced by 15–19%. These changes resulted in an increase in N use efficiency (NUE) by 32–46% and a reduction in N surplus by 40% without actually changing farmers’ operational practices. By reducing N application rates in line with official recommendations would not only save fertilizer cost while increasing crop yield, but also at the same time reduce environmental N pollution in China. Beyond of optimizing N application rate, improved management practices were required to produce more grain with less pollution, which would need about 11.8 billion US dollars for the implementation and reducing N loss reduction by 1.75 million tons to the environment.