ABSTRACT.- Agriculture is transitioning towards more sustainable ways of producing food, fiber, and biofuels, with practices aimed at conserving soil resources by prolonging soil occupation with cash or cover crops and balancing the proportion of cereals and winter legumes when increasing the number of crops in the rotation. Likewise, closing nutrient biogeochemical cycles is critical, particularly for N, which requires adjusting fertilizer rates to avoid surplus or soil mining. Winter crops for grain such as wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), pea (Pisum sativum L.), and for cover such as vetch (Vicia sativa L. or Vicia villosa L.) can differentially affect nitrogen (N) dynamics, yield response to N application, and associated efficiency metrics in succeeding late-sown maize (Zea mays L.). This study aimed to (i) quantify maize yield response to N fertilization by considering productivity, economic, and N efficiency metrics in late-sown maize following fallow or composing a double-crop after winter cash crops (wheat and field pea) or cover crop (vetch) and (ii) test whether vetch biomass can be used to predict the response to N fertilization. © 2025 Elsevier B.V.