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Extension weed specialist: Drilling cover crops can boost weed suppression

An Extension specialist says using a seed drill can improve cover crop establishment during the fall and strengthen weed suppression the following spring.

John Wallace with Pennsylvania State University Extension tells Brownfield, “If there are gaps in that cover crop stand, those weeds are going to fill that gap.”

“In general, we typically see more uniform stands when we’re drilling compared to broadcasting that seed aerially late in the season,” he says.

He says earlier planted covers generally produce more biomass, and as a result, can limit small weed seed emergence.

“When we combine a good residual program with the cover crop mulch, we end up seeing even better control, just creating the conditions to be more consistently effective with the number of post-emergence tools that we still have available for those species,” he explains.

Nearly one-third of farmers surveyed in the National Cover Crop Survey reported savings on herbicides after planting cover crops, while nearly 90 percent of growers who planted green said they experienced better weed control.

The annual survey is conducted by the Conservation Technology Information Center, the Sustainable Ag Research and Education group, the American Seed Trade Association, and the Center for Regenerative Agriculture at the University of Missouri.