Efficient Nitrogen Fertilisation in Arable Farming

When a crop receives the right amount of nutrients, at the right time, in the right form and location, nitrogen use efficiency improves and losses are minimised. Farmers can influence this by adjusting several management factors: choosing the right fertiliser, correct timing, appropriate application rate and the right spreading technique. However, nitrogen use efficiency varies considerably between crops. This article explores those differences, and how to manage them.

Each Crop Has Its Own Nutrient Requirements

Every crop requires different amounts of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. What is often overlooked is that each crop also has a unique nutrient uptake pattern.

For example, winter wheat and a specific potato variety may both have a recommendation of 220 kg nitrogen per hectare — yet their fertilisation strategies are completely different. This is because their growth development and timing vary significantly.

Winter cereals begin taking up nitrogen early in March and typically stop by the end of June. Potatoes, however, only start active uptake in May, peak in June/July, and continue taking up nitrogen gradually afterward. Potato varieties differ widely in uptake pattern. Potatoes may also have their haulm destroyed before maturity, while cereals always reach full ripeness. These differences strongly influence nitrogen use efficiency.

Not Every Crop Uses All of the Applied Nitrogen

Unfortunately, not all crops utilise the full amount of nitrogen applied. Cereals typically use 65–80% of applied nitrogen, whereas potatoes use 50–65%.

This difference is strongly linked to rooting:

• Wheat has a deep, fine and well-branched root system that can access nutrients from deeper soil layers.

• Potatoes have a concentrated root system mainly in the ridge, with shallower penetration into the soil.

This alone explains why some crops are more efficient in nutrient uptake than others.

Applying Nitrogen in the Right Place and Form

Some crops cannot efficiently use a large single nitrogen application, while others require a higher base dressing. Much nitrogen loss occurs because ammonium rapidly converts to nitrate (NO₃⁻), which leaches easily after rain or irrigation. Shallow-rooted crops cannot recover this nitrate once it has moved below the root zone.

One solution is to apply fertilisers that remain in the ammonium form longer, reducing leaching. This is exactly what nitrification inhibitors do.

A nitrification inhibitor slows the conversion from ammonium to nitrate by 4–10 weeks, depending on soil temperature and moisture. This keeps nitrogen in the ammonium form — much less prone to leaching — in the root zone for longer.

Nutramon Care & Dynamax Care offer the same high granule quality as Nutramon & Dynamax, but with the important addition of a nitrification inhibitor. By delaying nitrate formation for up to 10 weeks, these fertilisers allow crops more time to take up nitrogen from the upper soil layers.

Benefits observed in practice

• Leaching reduction of 30–50%

• Increased nitrogen uptake

• Higher yields due to improved nitrogen availability

In winter wheat, yield increases of 300–800 kg/ha are common.
For high-value crops such as ware potatoes, increases of 2–5 tonnes per hectare are no exception.

Overall nitrogen efficiency typically increases by 5–15% — meaning significantly more yield per kilogram of nitrogen applied.

More Efficient Use of Nitrogen with Less Environmental Loss

By choosing the right fertiliser — such as Nutramon Care & Dynamax Care — at the right moment, farmers can significantly reduce nitrogen losses and improve crop uptake. This leads to:

• Lower emissions
• Lower nitrate losses
• Higher yields
• Better overall profitability

Sources:

Abalos, D., Jeffery, S., Sanz-Cobena, A., Guardia, G., & Vallejo, A. (2014). A meta-analysis of the effect of nitrification inhibitors on nitrate leaching and nitrous oxide emissions from agricultural soils. Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 189, 136–144. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167880914002252

IPCC. (2019). 2019 Refinement to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines for National Greenhouse Gas Inventories – Volume 4: Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2019rf/index.html

Nutriëntenmanagement Nederland (NMN). (2025). Stikstofopname door akkerbouwgewassen. https://www.nmi-agro.nl/2025/07/01/stikstofopname-door-akkerbouwgewassen/

RIVM. (2023). Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Netherlands 1990–2021. National Inventory Report 2023. RIVM Rapport 2023-0100. Rijksinstituut voor Volksgezondheid en Milieu. https://www.rivm.nl/bibliotheek/rapporten/2023-0052.pdf

Cabo DLO (1993) De invloed van nitrificatieremmers, toedieningstijdstip en dosering van organische en minerale stikstof op de opbrengst van snijmaïs en verliezen naar het milieu. https://edepot.wur.nl/331159