Efficacy of sea water application for broadleaf weed control in seashore paspalum

Readily available sea water application could be an alternative of post emergence herbicides to control weeds in turfgrass. In studies evaluating the use of saline solutions for weed control, four salinity levels (0, 24, 48 and 72 dS m -1 ) were applied once to 32 weed species, along with seashore paspalum (Paspalum vaginatum Swartz) (as a control) in December, 2007 The results on injury ratings for salt tolerant weeds were categorized as highly susceptible, moderately susceptible and extremely tolerant. The results showed that 14 weed species were very susceptible and found to be effectively controlled (100%) at salinities of 48 dS m -1 . However, one most serious weeds red tassel flower (E. sonchifolia) were found to be extremely tolerant, and were not controlled even at the highest salinity level of 72 dS m -1