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Highlights • Ecological intensification management (EI) was compared with average farmer practice (FP). • We evaluated resource productivity and its components at the crop sequence level. • Water and radiation productivities were higher in EI than in FP. • Resource use efficiencies increased more than resource capture in EI as compared with FP. • The EI management reduced partial factor productivity of applied N but improved the partial N balance. Abstract The challenge to increase agricultural production with a minimum environmental impact requires to reach the maximum efficiency in the capture and use of resources such as photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), water, and nitrogen (N). Such requisites are encompassed in the ecological intensification (EI) concept. The aims of this work were to evaluate at a crop sequence level: i) crops yields, ii) water and radiation productivity and its components, i.e. resource capture and resource use efficiency, and iii) partial factor productivity of applied N (PFPN), partial nutrient balance for N (PNB), N uptake and N utilization efficiency of a two-year, three-crop sequence (wheat [ Triticum aestivum L.]/soybean [ Glycine max (L.) Merr.] double crop – maize [ Zea mays L.]) carried-out under EI principles in comparison with the same crop sequence under current farmer practices (FP) in two contrasting locations of the Argentinean Pampas, i.e. Paraná (-31°50′; -60°31′) at the northern Pampas and Balcarce (-37°45′, -58°18′) at the southern Pampas. Experiments were carried-out during four consecutive years, covering two complete cycles of the crop sequence. For the accumulated grain production of the crop sequence, EI management outyielded FP from 13 to 42%, depending on environmental conditions. Maize yield accounted for most of the variation (41–64%) of the accumulated grain yield of crop sequence, whether in EI as in FP. Average grain yield differences between EI and FP treatments were 274 g m−2 for maize, 69 g m−2 for wheat and -2 g m−2 for soybean. Water and radiation productivities of the sequence were higher in EI than in FP (26% for water and 17% for radiation; P < 0.0001), mainly because of increases in resource use efficiencies. EI reduced partial factor productivity of applied N, but improved partial nutrient balance for N as compared with FP. These reductions in partial factor productivity of applied N were less than proportional than the increases in N rate. Moreover, in spite of the higher N rate in EI respect to FP, N utilization efficiency (N ut E), i.e. grain per unit N uptake, was higher across all situations in EI. Our results showed that the challenge to obtain high grain yields by increasing N rate in a medium-input system could be achieved even with an increase in N ut E. Grain yields improvements, and increases in radiation and water productivity were reached by applying a set of agronomic practices that included improved genetics, crop and fertilizer N management englobed under EI concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) fertilization has become a common practice in corn and wheat crops in the Argentine Pampas during the past decade. In this region, great environmental variability determines erratic responses to fertilization. The quantity of data necessary for defining yield response models to N has not been investigated, and the relative yield transformation, combined with the total nutrient approach, has been widespread when analyzing fertilizer response results. The objectives were to determine the minimum data set necessary for fitting average yield functions suitable for fertilizer recommendation at regional scale and to investigate the consequences of using relative yield on N response functions when the total nutrient approach is used. Published results from two extensive fertilization networks, one with corn and the other with wheat, were used. Data were aggregated at different levels, because one single experiment to the entire network results, and yield response functions to N were fitted. Yield models tended to stability when a set of around 100 or more data points, generated in experiments performed across different sites and years, were used for fitting models with both crops. This amount of data was generated by performing 20 experiments in the corn network and 35 in the wheat network. Relative yield transformation allowed us to obtain models with lower dispersion than yield, but in the case of corn a biased model was generated that leads to underestimating fertilizer requirements. In wheat, similar fertilizer recommendations were produced from yield or relative yield functions. Response variability to fertilization must be addressed in the experimental area by increasing the amount of data used, rather than by applying the relative yield transformation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) management may be improved by a thorough understanding of the nutrient dynamics during previous-crop residue decomposition and its impact on fertilizer N fate in the soil-plant system. An experiment was conducted in the Argentine Pampas to evaluate the effect of maize and soybean as previouscrops and plow-till and no-till methods on N dynamics and 15N-labeled fertilizer uptake during a wheat growing season. Maize and soybean residues released N under both tillage treatments, but N release was faster from soybean residues and when residues were buried by tillage. Net immobilization of N on decomposing residues was not detected. A regression model that accounted for 92% of remaining N variability included time, previous crop, and tillage treatment as independent variables. The rapid residue decomposition with N release was attributed to the high temperatures of the agroecosystem. The recovery of 15N-labeled fertilizer in the wheat crop, soil organic matter, and decomposing residues was not statistically different between previous crop treatments or tillage systems. Crop uptake of fertilizer N averaged 52% across treatments. Forty percent of fertilizer N was removed in grains. Immobilization of labeled N on soil organic matter was substantial, averaging 34% of the 15N-labeled fertilizer retained, but was very small on decomposing residues, averaging 0.2-3.0%. Fertilizer N not accounted for at harvest in the soil-plant system was 12% and was ascribed to losses. Previous crop or tillage system had no impact on wheat yield, but when soybean was the previous crop, N content of grain and straw+roots increased. Discussion is presented on the potential availability of N retained in wheat straw, roots, and soil organic matter for future crops. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]