Roller crimping a cereal rye cover crop for soybean production provides non-chemical weed control, but often with the caveat of delayed soybean planting dates. Looking for a way to plant soybeans earlier while reaping the benefits of a roller-crimped cereal rye cover crop, Michael Vittetoe of Washington, IA began experimenting with in-row rolling a few years ago. In this footage from 2022, you’ll hear why this system works for him and the benefits he sees to his soybean crop with the rolled cereal rye.
Michael’s system consists of a 10-inch twin row cereal rye cover crop growing within 30-inch spaced soybeans. With this system he’s able to plant his soybeans at the end of April and, in early June, uses in-row roller units on a 40-foot bar to roll the cereal rye down to provide a moisture-conserving, weed-suppressing mulch.
Michael’s system is featured in several PFI-produced videos:
• Keeping Dollars on the...
• Precision-Seeded Cover...
Keep an eye out for more from Michael and other expert cover croppers in the Practical Cover Cropper series: • Practical Cover Croppers
This project is supported by The Foundation for Food & Agriculture Research. Any reference to specific products or technology does not constitute or imply an endorsement by FFAR for those products or technology.