This study analyzed the micro-level survey data from 859 corn-growing households in Northeast China to explore effective methods for enhancing the efficacy of soil testing and formula fertilization. Based on the calculation of agricultural production efficiency by using the stochastic frontier production function, the endogenous switching regression model was adopted to evaluate the impact of soil testing and formula fertilization on agricultural operating income and its internal mechanism. The threshold regression model and the moderating effect model were utilized to construct the corresponding situational conditions to enhance the positive impact. The results show that: 1) The promoting effect of soil testing and formula fertilization on agricultural operating income is more obvious in farmers who have a part-time livelihood and a low degree of land fragmentation. Under the counterfactual framework, the use of soil testing and formula fertilization increased the agricultural operating income by 7.64% to 13.04%. 2) The analysis of the internal influencing mechanism shows that the use of soil testing and formula fertilization improves agricultural production efficiency, and mainly promotes the increase of agricultural operating income by reducing fertilization cost. 3) There is a threshold effect of planting scale in the impact of soil testing and formula fertilization on agricultural operating income. With the increase in planting scale, the promoting effect of soil testing and formula fertilization on agricultural operating income increases. Situational factors such as productive services, high-standard farmland construction and contiguous management play a moderating role in the impact of soil testing and formula fertilization on agricultural operating income, which can positively amplify the effect of increasing income. In conclusion, the change in the efficacy of soil testing and formula fertilization is jointly constrained by the differences in farmers’ resource endowments and external situational factors. This study can provide empirical evidence and enlightenment for optimizing the promotion environment of green technology and implementing fertilization guidance according to local conditions.
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