Nitrogen uptake of annual crops a first assessment in italy

Nitrogen (N) is one of the major limiting factors of crop production, and the crop uptake is highly variable within a single year, between years, sites, and crops. The uptake variability is influenced by numerous agronomic, environmental and genetic factors. Therefore, coefficients of nutrient content in crop production may vary between regions, reflecting differences in farming practices and climate, but also depends on the methodology applied for their assessment (measurements, scientific research, expert judgments). This work reports the results of a literature review on N usage for some crops grown in Italy compiled by collecting data on the use of fertilizers, inorganic nutrient applications and organic nutrient inputs. This work is the first step for investigating the relationships between crop N uptake, fertilization plans and water pollution, and for contributing to Eurostat requests on Gross Nutrient Balance estimation of Member States.