Urea-based fertilization strategies to reduce yield-scaled N oxides and enhance bread-making quality in a rainfed Mediterranean wheat crop

•NBPT alone was not effective in reducing emissions of N oxides in the dry cropping season.•The most consistent mitigation option for yield-scaled emissions of N oxides was urea+DMPSA.•NBPT+DMPSA showed the potential to enhance grain N biofortification.•Inhibitors did not affect grain yield in a typical rainfall cropping season.•Single application of urea without inhibitors should not be recommended.