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Perennial ryegrass and white clover were grown in boxes with either no competition, root competition only, shoot competition only, or both root and shoot competition between them, Boxes received either no nitrogen or 200 kg N ha⁻¹ as a split application. The experiment was harvested at 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks after sowing. Perennial ryegrass was more competitive than white clover throughout the experiment and its overall competitive ability increased with Lime. The effects of root competition were greater than those of shoot competition at the first harvest, with both forms of competition having similar affects at the second harvest, while at the third and final harvests shoot competition had greater effects than root competition. At the later harvests N application increased the overall competitive ability of perennial ryegrass, relative to white clover, mainly owing to the increase in its shoot competitive ability.