Across a landscape, soil texture controls the optimum rate of N fertilizer for maize production

•We assessed how within soil texture variations affect maize N response, soil N availability and residual soil nitrate.•We analyzed how N fertilization based on economic optimum N rate would help decreasing residual nitrate levels.•Soil texture variations affected maize N fertilizer response with higher yield and N uptake in coarse than in finesoils.•Nitrogen rate equivalent to economic optimum N rate would have allowed decreasing residual soil nitrate levels.•Variable rate N application according to soil texture and to the optimum N rate can reduce input production costs.