Mineral nitrogen fertilisers remain a crucial factor even in the ecological intensification of agriculture

ABSTRACTThe negative impact on the environment caused by intensive agriculture has been extensively discussed for years. In particular, excessive nitrogen application has been associated with biodiversity loss. Many studies have shown the potential to reduce the use of nitrogen without any impact on crop yield. Maintaining crop yield has been the goal, whereas crop quality has not been considered. In this paper, we investigate the effect of the level of soil organic carbon (SOC) and nitrogen fertiliser application on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) yield and its quality. We show that the absence of nitrogen fertiliser decreased both yield and quality parameters of cereal grain. Quality parameters, such as protein and gluten contents, zeleny value, falling number and hardness were strongly positively influenced by nitrogen fertiliser application. The SOC level had no significant effect on these grain quality parameters. As a result, in the absence of nitrogen fertiliser, grain was not suitable for baking ...