The application of the Nitrates Directive to vegetable crops: tools and strategies from NEV2013 for an integrated fertilization management

The European Commission DG Environment and the University of Turin (Italy) have organized the NEV2013 Workshop on ‘Nitrogen, Environment and Vegetables’ for providing support to the implementation of the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC). NEV2013 has focused on the critical issues of the Nitrates Directive in vegetable crops in European Countries. NEV2013 covered Nitrogen fertilization management, strategies to improve Nitrogen and water use efficiency, relationship of Nitrogen and other nutrients, Nitrogen effects on product quality, vegetable growing systems and their effect on waters pollution, crop residues management, crop rotation, and monitoring of the environmental pollution caused by Nitrogen losses from vegetable cultural systems. The critical issues of the Nitrates directive for vegetable crop systems of different European Countries were tackled. The outcome indicated that the environmental impact due to the Nitrogen fertilization varies not only from country to country but also locally within the same country or region. There is a striking need for increasing the Nitrogen fertilizer use efficiency for all crops in order to reduce its potential negative effects on the environment and, in the case of vegetable crops, its effects on human health when accumulated as nitrate in the plants. In recent years, numerous research programs have assessed the effects of Nitrogen fertilizer rate, fertilization methods, and Nitrogen fertilizer source on Nitrogen uptake and plant growth of many vegetable species. On this base, tools to determine the Nitrogen losses owing to the different cultivation systems for vegetables and to the different climate and soil conditions have been developed. Their spread implementation can lead to environmental-friendly fertilization strategies, applied taking into consideration the needs and suggestions of researchers, farmers, and consumers, and involving policy makers. As any other cropping system, also vegetable systems need valuable indicators: the tool box of indicators that can be used to sustainably manage fertilization is quite large, while modeling allows for quantifying environmental impacts. Combining indicators, empirical predictions and model predictions into expert systems helps to take decisions about management practices. Future strategies need better connection and data transferring among the actors, from policy makers to scientists, extension service technicians and growers.