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The nutritional responses to drying and rewetting cycles of partial root-zone irrigation still remains elusive. The effect of alternate partial root-zone irrigation (PRI) on water use efficiency and nitrogen (N) accumulation compared with deficit irrigation (DI) and full irrigation (FI) were investigated in maize (Zea mays L.) grown under three N-fertilization rates (1.5, 3.0, and 6.0 g N pot⁻¹) and moderately and severely water-stressed levels (60 and 40% of soil water holding capacity). The plants were grown in split-root pots and exposed to FI, DI and PRI treatments from the fourth leaf to silking stage. Analysis across the N-fertilization treatments showed that both PRI and DI significantly decreased plant water use as well as plant height, stem girth, leaf area and shoot biomass, leading to similar WUE compared with the FI control. Carbon isotope composition (δ¹³C) was highest in PRI plants indicating a fine-tuned long-term …