Assessment of the economic and environmental sustainability of Variable Rate Technology (VRT) application in different wheat intensive European agricultural areas. A Water energy food nexus approach

•Water Energy Food nexus approach was applied to evaluate the impact of Variable Rate Technology at farm level for a sustainable use of nitrogen.•The results show the importance for farmers of managing inputs in an efficient way, in order to obtain economic and environmental benefits.•The adoption of VRT in input management can provide important benefits, both under economic and environmental perspective.