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Enhancing Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Major Crops: Mechanisms, Management, and...
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Enhancing Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Major Crops: Mechanisms, Management, and Synergies with Yield Formation

A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Farming Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2026 | Viewed by 653

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Bin Liao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Water Resources Engineering and Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: efficient utilization of agricultural water and soil resources
Dr. Guoqing Lei

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
State Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Interests: soil-crop water and carbon transport experiments and modeling
Dr. Ping Liao

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Institute of Rice Industrial Engineering Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China
Interests: efficient utilization of agricultural water and soil resources

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Nitrogen use efficiency (NUE) is a key determinant of crop productivity, resource use efficiency, and the sustainability of agroecosystems. For major food and cash crops, such as rice, wheat, maize, and oilseed rape, numerous studies have been conducted to improve NUE through various management practices. However, under diversified field management conditions (e.g., different irrigation regimes, fertilization strategies, tillage practices, and cropping systems), crop NUE varies considerably. The response patterns of NUE, the mechanisms underlying its improvement, and its linkages with crop yield formation remain incompletely understood.

This Special Issue focuses on major food and cash crops, with nitrogen use efficiency systematically examined under different irrigation, fertilization, and agronomic management conditions, and with particular emphasis on effective strategies for improving nitrogen use efficiency, their underlying mechanisms, and clarifying the relationships between nitrogen use efficiency and crop yield formation processes.

Dr. Bin Liao
Dr. Guoqing Lei
Dr. Ping Liao
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. Agronomy 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

  • nitrogen use efficiency (NUE)
  • nitrogen uptake, assimilation, and allocation
  • crop yield formation
  • agronomic management
  • physiological and ecological mechanisms

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 875 KB  
Article
Labile Carbon Additions Reduce Soil Nitrate but Can Increase Maize Fertilizer N Needs
by Stephen W. Potter, John E. Sawyer and Marshall D. McDaniel
Agronomy 2026, 16(9), 933; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16090933 - 4 May 2026
Abstract
Winter cover crops (WCCs) are effective at reducing N losses from temperate agroecosystems. Although extensive research on WCCs has demonstrated numerous benefits, overall adoption rates in the Midwest U.S. remain low. We evaluated an alternative to WCC’s ability to reduce nitrate (NO3 [...] Read more.
Winter cover crops (WCCs) are effective at reducing N losses from temperate agroecosystems. Although extensive research on WCCs has demonstrated numerous benefits, overall adoption rates in the Midwest U.S. remain low. We evaluated an alternative to WCC’s ability to reduce nitrate (NO3−)-N leaching; that is, adding an inexpensive, easy-to-apply, form of labile carbon (C) as a soil amendment intended to immobilize N and mitigate leaching. In the autumn in a typical maize–soybean rotation, we added crude glycerol (a C-rich, biodiesel byproduct) and hypothesized that glycerol carbon (Cglyc) would immobilize N and have no effect on crop growth. More specifically, Cglyc was broadcast applied at three rates (0, 216, and 866 kg C ha−1 y−1) and combined factorially with six spring-applied fertilizer N rates (0, 56, 112, 168, 224, and 280 kg N ha−1) at two sites. In response, we measured: soil profile NO3−-N, leached NO3−-N, crop health (via SPAD), yield, and maize agronomic optimum N rate (AONR). Cglyc reduced spring soil profile NO3−-N by 14–24% across site-years, but had highly variable and non-significant effects on NO3−-N leaching. Cglyc had an inconsistent impact on crop SPAD and yield, with Cglyc increasing AONR by ~63 kg N ha−1 (or 31–40%) at one of two sites. Our results show promise for using labile C as a “liquid cover crop” soil amendment. Future studies should explore greater labile C application rates and alternate application timing in order to fine-tune the balance between environmental benefits and crop productivity. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Major Crops: Mechanisms, Management, and Synergies with Yield Formation)
23 pages, 2826 KB  
Article
Impacts of Micro-Polluted River Water on Soil Nitrogen and Microbial Diversity in Paddy Fields Under Different Irrigation Modes
by Lina Chen, Yiqi Zhou, Jiang Li, Yanyu Wang and Siying Lian
Agronomy 2026, 16(8), 777; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy16080777 - 9 Apr 2026
Viewed by 329
Abstract
This study aims to explore the effects of micro-polluted river water on nitrogen and microbial communities of paddy field soil under different irrigation modes. The experiment was conducted in a water-saving park in Nanjing. By establishing three water quality conditions—clean water, micro-polluted river [...] Read more.
This study aims to explore the effects of micro-polluted river water on nitrogen and microbial communities of paddy field soil under different irrigation modes. The experiment was conducted in a water-saving park in Nanjing. By establishing three water quality conditions—clean water, micro-polluted river water, and alternating irrigation—and two moisture conditions—flood irrigation and controlled irrigation—this study investigates the effects of different irrigation patterns on soil nitrogen and microbial communities. The results indicate that, under flood irrigation, the input of micro-polluted river water can effectively alleviate NH4+-N loss during the heading stages of rice growth by 49.3%. Moisture conditions are the primary factor influencing microbial community structure. Although the input of micro-polluted river water reduces community stability, rotation irrigation can increase microbial abundance and enhance network complexity, thereby enhancing the system’s resilience. Redundancy analysis shows that soil moisture, pH, and ion content are the key environmental factors driving microbial distribution. The clean and polluted water rotation irrigation model performs best in maintaining soil nitrogen and microbial health. Rotation irrigation promotes the enrichment of key functional groups, such as Actinobacteria, effectively increasing rice yield. This study provides a theoretical basis for promoting sustainable agricultural production through water resource management. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enhancing Nitrogen Use Efficiency in Major Crops: Mechanisms, Management, and Synergies with Yield Formation)
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