The Korean Journal of Crop Science ISSN:0252-9777(Print) 2287-8432(Online) 한국작물학회지

Reduction in the occurrence of weed and erosion of slope soil by living mulch barley simultaneously sown with soybean were investigated at the Upland Experimental Field in Suwon City in 2013 and 2014. The aboveground dry matter of 200-300, 100-200 kg/10a of living mulch barley was obtained at 40 and 60 after sowing, respectively. The occurrence of weeds was significantly reduced by barley living mulch. The early growth of soybean was reduced significantly because of the competition with barley living mulch, but the late growth of soybean after natural drying of barley living mulch was recovered considerably. The soybean grain yield with barley living mulch was similar to that of the normal soybean cultivation, showing no significant difference between no mulch and living mulch treatments. With respect to soil erosion on the slope soil, the amount of run-off water decreased by 20-50% and the amount of soil loss decreased by 70-90% by barley living mulch. The reduction in soil erosion by the use of plastic film + barley living mulch was similar to that of only barley living mulch. The barley living mulch in soybean production can be a promising cultivation technique as it reduces weed occurrence and soil erosion without grain yield reduction.