The Impact of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Yield and Quality of Spring and Facultative Wheat Under Different Spring Sowing Dates

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Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effects of different nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates and sowing dates on grain yield, protein content, grain N uptake, and nitrogen recovery efficiency (NRE) in spring and facultative wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivated in northwestern and central Romania from 2018 to 2020. The experiment was designed as a split–split plot study with two spring sowing dates (SDs): an optimal date (1–15 March) and a delayed date (postponed by two weeks). All treatments received a basal autumn fertilizer supplying 36 kg N ha−1 and 92 kg P ha−1. In spring, three N treatments were evaluated: no additional N (N36), 72 kg N ha−1 (N108), and 105 kg N ha−1 (N141), with the supplementary N top-dressed at the booting stage. The results showed that delayed sowing significantly altered grain N uptake dynamics and reduced NRE, even under standard fertilization regimes. Specifically, delayed sowing reduced grain yield by 7.52% to 28.39% compared to optimal sowing, while adverse climatic interactions in delayed setups reduced the mean NRE to as low as 16.43%. These findings indicate that conventional N application strategies may be suboptimal under variable sowing conditions and highlight the importance of adaptive N management to improve both agronomic performance and environmental sustainability.

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