Drip fertigation: A potential triple-win strategy for improving crop yields, reducing water use, and enhancing eco-economic benefits
Fu, Hao ; Huang, Yufan ; Chen, Lei ; Wang, Xiangyin ; Li, Tianlong ; Mi, Xiaotian ; He, Gang
DOI:10.1016/j.eja.2026.128149
Abstract
With the triple pressures of food security, environmental protection, and increased income, drip fertigation, as an advanced precision agriculture technique, is one option for addressing these challenges. However, the comprehensive benefits of drip fertigation on crop yields, water productivity (WP), nitrogen use efficiency (NUE), and eco-economic benefits remain unclear globally. Here, we conducted a global meta-analysis including 1883 paired observations to assess the impact of drip fertigation on agronomic, environmental, and economic benefits for wheat, maize, and potato production. Results showed that drip fertigation increased crop yields by 6-24% and NUE by 18-23% compared with rainfed and conventional irrigation (flood and furrow irrigation combined with broadcast fertilization). Compared with conventional irrigation, drip fertigation achieved a 28% increase in WP by reducing evapotranspiration (ET) by 26%, while reducing N2O emission by 30%, NH3 volatilization by 21%, NO3--N leaching by 33%, and GHG emissions by 22%. Within the drip fertigation system, optimized irrigation frequency, nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rate, and fertilization frequency increased crop yields by 5-12%, and NUE by 8-35%, but deficit irrigation decreased crop yields by 12%, while improving WP by 6%. For wheat production, drip fertigation slightly increased the net ecosystem economic budget (NEEB) when the service life of drip tape was more than one year, compared with conventional irrigation. These findings highlight the potential of drip fertigation to balance crop yield, resource use, and environmental sustainability, and future efforts should focus on cost optimization and technical innovation.