This study evaluates the species diversity and phenological behaviour of the weed communities associated with the common crops in the Nile Delta region (three winter crops: Egyptian clover, broad beans and wheat; and three summer crops: cotton, maize and rice). The weed communities of winter crops are of higher diversity than those of summer crops, presumably due to differences in sowing and weeding processes. The phenological sequences of the weed communities are, in most cases, closely related to those of the crops in which they occur. The correspondence between the crucial periods in the life cycle of the weed and the crop (seedling establishment and fruiting) often leads to severe competition.