Nitrogen management in processing tomato: An overview

Nitrogen availability is paramount in achieving optimal crop growth, high yield, and good quality of processing tomato. The excessive use of N fertilizers, combined with low fertilizer N recovery by the crop, may lead to environmental risks related to high nitrate leaching. A sound nitrogen management strategy aimed at optimizing N fertilization, maximizing N use efficiency by the crop, and minimizing N losses in the environment should be based, as in other vegetable crops, on i) the assessment of crop N demand; ii) the determination of appropriate fertilizer N rates to meet crop N requirements; and iii) the integration of agronomic practices to improve the sustainability of N fertilization. This review aims to discuss the various tools, agronomic practices, and effective strategies that can improve the sustainability and efficiency of N fertilization in processing tomato cultivation.