Growth response of six weed species and spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare ) to increasing levels of nitrogen and phosphorus

Summary A glasshouse experiment was carried out to investigate the influence of increasing levels of nitrogen and phosphorus on the growth of six common weed species growing alone or in competition with spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare ). Capsella bursa‐pastoris , Chenopodium album , Papaver rhoeas , Sinapis arvensis , Spergula arvensis , Viola arvensis and spring barley were grown in pots with different levels of nitrogen (0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150 kg N ha −1 ) or phosphorus (0, 10, 20, 30, 40 and 60 kg P ha −1 ). The aboveground parts of the plants were harvested after 7 weeks and the dry weight of shoots, percentage N and P content of the shoot and uptake of N and P were determined. A linear or a polynomial model was used to describe the data. Growing alone, Spergula arvensis was the only weed species that increased its dry weight at the same rate as barley. Weed species with low dry weight increase had larger increases in percentage N or P content than barley, indicating a luxury accumulation of nutrients. The uptake of N and P per pot did not differ much between weeds and barley. V. arvensis and P. rhoeas accumulated least nutrients (per cent of dry matter) and Spergula arvensis accumulated most. Weeds grew poorly in competition with barley. The percentage N and P content in barley did not change when they grew in competition with weeds.