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Agriculture
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Fertilization Strategies for Improving Fertilizer Use Efficiency
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Fertilization Strategies for Improving Fertilizer Use Efficiency

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Soils".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2026) | Viewed by 3689

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Thiago Assis Rodrigues Nogueira

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Guest Editor
Department of Soil Science, School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University, Jaboticabal 14884-900, Brazil
Interests: nutrient management in agroecosystems; heavy metals in soil–plant systems; waste management for sustainable agriculture; soil fertility and fertilization; soil health for food security; fertilizers
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Flávio Henrique Silveira Rabêlo

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Guest Editor
Department of Soil Science, College of Agriculture Luiz de Queiroz, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba 13418-900, Brazil
Interests: plant nutrition; abiotic stress; sustainable crop production; food security; plant physiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Douglas Guelfi

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Guest Editor
Departament of Soil Science, Federal University of Lavras, Lavras 37203-202, Brazil
Interests: fertilizer technologies; nutrient management; smart fertilization; greenhouse gas emissions
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Arun Dilipkumar Jani

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Guest Editor
Department of Biology and Chemistry, California State University, Monterey Bay, Seaside, CA 93955, USA
Interests: soil fertility management and crop nutrition; carbon and nitrogen cycling in agroecosystems
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fertilizers and their technologies are essential inputs to support crop growth and maintain global food production. Conversely, overuse of fertilizers can lead to environmental problems, such as water pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, while also being costly for farmers. Best management practices (BMPs) for the sustainable and efficient use of fertilizers to maintain high crop yields and quality and to mitigate potential environmental issues are in an important scope of science. Several BMPs have been proposed to increase fertilizer use efficiency (FUE), including nutrient management planning, appropriate fertilizer application timing and rate, soil health management practices, precision fertilization, use of new fertilizer technologies and tools for monitoring soil and crop health, crop rotation, cover cropping, conservation tillage, agroforestry and intercropping, recycling nutrients and byproduct application, agricultural bioinputs, and other sustainable farming practices. Considering the rapid advance of new discoveries regarding the challenges and opportunities for improvements in the FUE in food production, soil quality, and climate change, we have created this Special Issue. We kindly invite authors to submit original research or systematic reviews that address sustainable technologies and fertilization strategies to improve FUE in agriculture and promote healthier soil, food security, and environmental quality.

Dr. Thiago Assis Rodrigues Nogueira
Prof. Dr. Flávio Henrique Silveira Rabêlo
Prof. Dr. Douglas Guelfi
Dr. Arun Dilipkumar Jani
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • agricultural bioinputs
  • byproduct
  • recycling nutrients
  • fertilizers technologies
  • fertilizer application methods, timing, and rate
  • food security
  • nutrient management
  • nutrient cycling, mineral and organic fertilizers
  • soil health
  • environmental impacts

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 3324 KB  
Article
Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Maize over Sixteen Years of Unbalanced Fertilization with Nitrogen and Potassium
by Agnieszka Rutkowska and Beata Suszek-Łopatka
Agriculture 2026, 16(7), 788; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture16070788 - 2 Apr 2026
Viewed by 532
Abstract
Adequate fertilization with nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) is essential to sustain crop productivity and minimize nitrogen losses to the environment. However, the increasing imbalance in fertilizer use in Poland, with low potassium inputs, may impair long-term soil fertility and nitrogen use efficiency. [...] Read more.
Adequate fertilization with nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) is essential to sustain crop productivity and minimize nitrogen losses to the environment. However, the increasing imbalance in fertilizer use in Poland, with low potassium inputs, may impair long-term soil fertility and nitrogen use efficiency. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of long-term potassium omission on maize productivity and nitrogen use efficiency under varying nitrogen fertilization rates. A 16-year field experiment (2003–2018) was conducted in two different regions of Poland (Grabów and Baborówko), on soils with medium to low available potassium content. Maize response to potassium fertilization cessation was evaluated at increasing nitrogen rates (50–250 kg N ha−1). Grain yield, nitrogen uptake (Yn), nitrogen surplus (Ns), and nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) were assessed according to the EU Nitrogen Expert Panel (EUNEP) approach. Potassium omission had little effect on maize yield and NUE indices. At nitrogen rates commonly applied in agricultural practice in Poland (~100 kg N ha−1), NUE strongly exceeded 100%. The other NUE indices—nitrogen surplus and nitrogen uptake remained optimal (<80 kg N ha−1, and >80 kg N ha−1, respectively), regardless of potassium treatment. These results indicate a low risk of nitrogen losses under moderate nitrogen inputs, even without potassium fertilization. However, given the declining NUE trend on soils with low potassium content, a reduction in nitrogen use efficiency can be expected, particularly under high nitrogen application rates and continued unbalanced potassium fertilization. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fertilization Strategies for Improving Fertilizer Use Efficiency)
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23 pages, 2350 KB  
Article
Regenerative Farming with Organic Fertilizer and Biologics: A New Approach to Enhancing Soybean Yield and Soil Chemical Quality
by Rodrigo Silva Alves, Luana Corrêa Silva, Philippe Solano Toledo Silva, Franco Monici Fabrino, Paulo Paschoalotto Marques, Orivaldo Arf, Adônis Moreira, Fernando Shintate Galindo, Marcelo Carvalho Minhoto Teixeira Filho, Arun Dilipkumar Jani, Gian Franco Capra, Flávio Henrique Silveira Rabêlo, Douglas Guelfi and Thiago Assis Rodrigues Nogueira
Agriculture 2025, 15(22), 2388; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15222388 - 19 Nov 2025
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Abstract
Composted sewage sludge (CSS) applications and the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are emerging as sustainable alternatives in tropical agriculture. However, no studies have validated the combined use of these practices. This study aimed to evaluate the residual effect of three CSS [...] Read more.
Composted sewage sludge (CSS) applications and the use of plant growth-promoting bacteria (PGPB) are emerging as sustainable alternatives in tropical agriculture. However, no studies have validated the combined use of these practices. This study aimed to evaluate the residual effect of three CSS applications on soil fertility (0.0–0.2 m and 0.2–0.4 m layer), plant nutrition, morphological and yield components, and grain yield and quality of soybean, with and without co-inoculation of Bradyrhizobium japonicum combined with Azospirillum brasilense, under a no-tillage system (NTS) in the Cerrado region. The field experiment was conducted over a six-year period in Selvíria, Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil. This research was evaluated during the 2022/23 first cropping season. The experimental design was a randomized complete block with four replicates, arranged in a 5 × 2 + 1 factorial scheme, consisting of five cumulative CSS rates (0.0, 15.0, 22.5, 30.0, and 37.5 Mg ha−1, wet basis), with and without co-inoculation of A. brasilense, plus an additional control treatment with conventional mineral fertilization (CMF). The residual effect of the cumulative CSS rates improved soil fertility in both layers, similarly to CMF, regardless of co-inoculation. Co-inoculation with Bradyrhizobium japonicum and Azospirillum brasilense did not influence the soybean variables assessed. We found that the 24.7 Mg ha−1 CSS accumulated rate yielded the highest soybean yield (4990 kg ha−1). CSS can be used as an organic fertilizer in soybean cultivation, helping to improve the efficiency of mineral fertilizers while ensuring environmentally friendly disposal of municipal sewage sludge. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Fertilization Strategies for Improving Fertilizer Use Efficiency)
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