Abstract. Using phase-shaped millijoule 1030-nm femtosecond pulses generating a filament in a cell filled with N 2 , we obtain intense forward UV emission between vibrational manifolds of B 2 Σ and X 2 Σ states of N 2 + for optimal pulse sequences. The effect is tentatively ascribed to wave-mixing between intense NIR pulses and weak supercontinuum components, resonant to the UV transitions, whereby a noninstantaneous nonlinear susceptibility is linked to rotational coherence in ions.