Comparison of Crop Yield and Pollution Production Response to Nitrogen Fertilization Models, Accounting for Crop Rotation Effect

Alternative mathematical functional forms commonly applied in modelling crop and pollution production response to nitrogen (N) fertilizer use were investigated. Data were generated using soil and water assessment tool modeling, and explicitly accounted for rotation effects on regression parameters. The Mitscherlich–Baule model best represented potato, carrot, and alfalfa yield response, while the quadratic model best described corn, winter wheat, and barley yield response to N fertilization. The quadratic functional form also best represented nitrate-N leaching response to N fertilization for most crops. Maximum economic rates of N fertilization for crops were sensitive to residual N effects of previous crops.