Innovative management programme reduces environmental impacts in Chinese vegetable production

China produces half of the world’s vegetables. The production uses 1.7% of the global harvest area of crops but accounts for 7.8% of the chemical fertilizers and 6.6% of crop-sourced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Using an innovative management programme, the integrated knowledge and products strategy (IKPS), we demonstrate opportunities for producing more vegetables with lower environmental impacts in China’s vegetable production systems. Combining soil–crop system management practices with enhanced-efficiency fertilizer products, IKPS was tested through 54 site-year field experiments in China’s major agro-ecological zones by a national research network over 12 years. Compared with current farming practices, the adoption of IKPS decreased the nitrogen (N) application rate by 38%, N surplus by 65% and GHG emissions by 28%, while increasing yield by 17%. Scenario analyses showed that adoption of IKPS in China’s vegetable production could mitigate resource and environmental burdens while enhancing food and nutrition security. Chinese vegetable production accounts for 1.7% of the global harvest area of crops but uses 7.8% of the chemical fertilizer and produces 6.6% of the crop-sourced greenhouse gas emissions of the global agricultural sector. An innovative management programme offers opportunities for producing more vegetables with lower environmental impacts.