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Nitrogen (N), being a mobile element, is often lost due to injudicious use, conventional soil and crop management practices; however, its losses can be reduced by temporal N application and optimal tillage practices. This 2-year experiment was conducted to evaluate the impact of different tillage systems i.e., conventional tillage (CT), mouldboard plough (MBP) + 2-cultivations and chisel plough (CP) + 2-cultivations and temporal N application i.e., whole at sowing, 1/2 at sowing+1/2 at V5 (5-leaf stage), 1/2 at sowing+1/2 at tasseling, 1/2 at V5+1/2 at tasseling, 1/3 at sowing+1/3 at V5+1/3 at tasseling on soil properties, grain yield, nitrogen uptake and net returns in maize. Tillage systems and N timings significantly affected leaf area index (LAI), leaf area duration (LAD), crop growth rate (CGR), soil properties, grain yield, N uptake and net returns. Chisel tilled plots observed less bulk density, more LAI, CGR and total N uptake compared with CT and MBP. Nitrogen application in three splits resulted higher LAI and duration, CGR and nitrogen uptake, compared with other treatments. Maximum net returns were recorded in chisel-tilled plots with N application in three splits. In conclusion, N uptake coupled with higher N use efficiency, and higher net returns were observed with chisel tillage system, and applying N in three splits under semi-arid irrigation conditions. (C) 2018 Friends Science Publishers