Killing cover crops mechanically: Review of recent literature and assessment of new research results
By S. Dabney. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture, 2002
126 citations recorded by the source corpus.
Cover-crop residues left on the soil surface as a mulch in no-till crop production systems protect the soil from erosion, increase water infiltration and suppress weeds. Because many growers using cover crops want to reduce chemical inputs, non-chemical methods of killing or suppressing cover crops are needed. In the first part of this paper we review the current literature and discuss advantages and disadvantages of five mechanical methods for killing cover crops, i.e., mowing, rolling, roll-chopping, undercutting and partial rototilling. We also report on three new studies that broaden the current literature, including planting into freshly killed residue. In the first study, the use of planter attachments to remove surface residues from the planter row improved stands when cotton was no-till planted 2–7 days after mowing cover crops in Mississippi. In the second study, 100% of a rye/vetch cover crop in Missouri was killed by mowing, and greater than 90% was killed by roll-chopping. Cotton stands were reduced by the use of row cleaners that clogged when the cover crop was roll-chopped or mowed on the same day that the crop was planted. The third study evaluated three methods of mechanically killing summer cover crops in North Carolina. Undercutting provided greater than 95% kill for five of six broadleaf species, and two of five grass species. Mowing effectively killed all six broadleaf cover crops, but re-growth occurred with three of five grasses, with the exception of nearly mature German foxtail millet and mature Japanese millet. In general, rolling did not effectively kill broadleaf or grass cover crops, with the exception of nearly mature German foxtail millet, mature Japanese millet and mature buckwheat.
Subfields: Mechanical Engineering
View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/7850032e4d3895ed9beab14e35275389247a3dda
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In Mechanical Engineering
Citations in the corpus
- Growth and Development of Hairy Vetch Cultivars in the Northeastern United States as Influenced by Planting and Harvesting Date (2004, background): “*Corresponding author (teasdale@ba.ars.usda.gov). plements are applied to vegetative stands (Creamer and Dabney, 2002; Teasdale and Rosecrance, 2003).”
- Cover-Crop Roller–Crimper Contributes to Weed Management in No-Till Soybean (2010, background): “Mowing can be used to kill some cover crops without soil disturbance, but this method has potential pitfalls, including cover-crop regrowth and aggregated spatial distribution of cover-crop residues (Creamer and Dabney 2002).”
- Diversified grain-based cropping systems provide long-term weed control while limiting herbicide use and yield losses (2019, background): “When tillage is not conceivable, non-chemical termination of cover crops is feasible by rolling or mowing (Creamer and Dabney 2002) but these practices were not integrated into the initial design of S2 because certain weed species or crop volunteers may be insensitive.”
- Rolled Rye Mulch for Weed Suppression in Organic No-Tillage Soybeans (2010, background): “This allows the rye to persist longer on the soil surface by slowing down decomposition rates when compared to mowing (Creamer and Dabney 2002).”
- Timing of Cover-Crop Management Effects on Weed Suppression in No-Till Planted Soybean using a Roller-Crimper (2011, background): “Because the plant material is mostly left intact, residues can persist for longer periods of time (Creamer and Dabney 2002; Morse 2001).”
- Control of cereal rye with a roller/crimper as influenced by cover crop phenology. (2009, background): “In conservation tillage systems, mowing has several drawbacks including the risk of regrowth, accelerated residue decomposition, and patchy distribution of the surface residue (Wilkins and Bellinder, 1996; Creamer and Dabney, 2002).”
- Rolled Winter Rye and Hairy Vetch Cover Crops Lower Weed Density but Reduce Vegetable Yields in No-tillage Organic Production (2011, background): “The many mechanical methods explored for killing cover crops in no-tillage, highresidue systems have been well reviewed (Creamer and Dabney, 2002).”