Redefining crop breeding strategy for effective use of nitrogen in cropping systems

More than a half-century after the initial conceptualization of nitrogen use efficiency, crop improvement progress for direct nitrogen gains remains an elusive target. A more relevant conceptual framework bridging soil and plant processes is needed for crop improvement and environmental stewardship. In this Comment, Ciampitti et al. introduces a more relevant conceptual framework bridging soil and plant processes to untangle true gains of N for field crops rather than indirect progress merely based on yield.