Weed control treated with salt and seawater in organic agricultural upland

Weed control is the most important issue in organic farming systems that limit crop growth and their yield. Field experiments were conducted in organic soybean (Glycine max Merrill) to evaluate the weed suppression effects of salt and seawater treatment. Weed population and fresh weight were monitored after 6 weeks of salt and seawater treatments. The most important weeds were Digitaria sanguinalis, Portulaca oleracea, Tradescantia reflexa and Chenopodium album var. centrorubrum, but also 6 other species were observed in soybean arable field. Soybean crops under seawater or their solids application were well grown. The results treated with salts and seawater indicate decreases by 13.4~30.8% in weed density and by 18.0~43.2% in their fresh weight and soil hardness increases of up to 2.1-fold. Salt and seawater provided good additional weed control, but they were caused a serious problem in deterioration of soil physical properties.