This work aimed to evaluate the absorption and use of phosphorus (P) by soybean and common bean crops and by weeds. The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse from August to November 2002. I was adopted a randomized block design with three replications, in a 6 x 4 factorial scheme. Six vegetal species (soybean (Glycine max), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), two Euphorbia heterophylla biotypes (susceptible and resistant to ALS inhibitor herbicides), Bidens pilosa and Desmodium tortuosum) and four doses of P (0.00 12.00; 24.00 and 48.00 mg dm-3), applied at sowing in the form of single super phosphate, were evaluated. The soybean root biomass was increased by the higher P supply and soybean, D. tortuosum, and B. pilosa accumulated more biomass in response to the increasing P doses. The highest P concentration was observed in the bean plants, independent of the applied P level, while D. tortuosum was the only specie in which the P content nearly tripled when cultivated with a P dose (48.00 mg dm-3) that was twice as high as that recommended for common bean. The highest P content in the plant tissues was accumulated by soybean and D. tortuosum until the beginning of flowering, and by D. tortuosum during the reproductive phase. In relation to the P uptake efficiency of roots, D. tortuosum and common bean presented variations according to the applied P level. The other species maintained the same root efficiency, independent of the P availability in the soil. The efficiency in the use of absorbed P by D. tortuosum, soybean and common bean decreased with the increase of the P dose. The E. heterophylla biotypes and common bean performed worst in relation to the efficient use of available P in the soil. Until the reproductive phase, D. Tortuosum presented the highest percentage of recovery of applied P.
Glycine max; Phaseolus vulgaris; Bidens pilosa; Euphorbia heterophylla; Desmodium tortuosum
