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Sidedress or split nitrogen application systems, in which nitrogen (N) is applied in two or more splits, have been proposed as an alternative to the conventional strategy of applying all fertiliser at once before planting. In theory, sidedress could reduce N leaching losses during early growth, leading to greater N availability later on in the growing season and finally higher yields. So far, few experimental studies have shown higher yields in sidedress systems compared to the single N strategy. We present an in-silico experiment comparing side-by-side the sidedress and conventional (single N application) strategies for 38 years of potato cultivation on 2 representative soils and for 3 cultivars in the Netherlands. Simulation results obtained with the Tipstar potato crop growth model show that — given the same total nitrogen input — the two systems give the same yields (thus not increasing risk) in most years (92–100% of …