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Efficient nitrogen (N) management plays an important role in rice cultivation. Previous studies in the tropics mainly focused on split-N applications before panicle initiation in transplanted rice. In this study, we examined the effects of top-dressing at panicle initiation and flowering of dry direct-seeded rice on yield and fertilizer-use efficiency in field experiments at the International Rice Research Institute, the Philippines, in the dry and wet seasons. Two high-yielding indica cultivars (Rc222 and Rc282) were drill-seeded under four split-N application regimes and a control with no supplemental N. The timing of the split-N applications significantly affected grain yield, even though the total N input was unchanged. The late-season N application at heading increased yield by 6% (0.49 t ha⁻¹) in the dry season and 7% (0.49 t ha⁻¹) in the wet season. The N recovery efficiency also increased with an increasing proportion of …