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Cover crops can control weeds if implemented properly

A weed science professor concerned about the proliferation of herbicide resistance says cover crops can effectively suppress weeds if implemented properly.

 

Dr. Aaron Hager with the University of Illinois says as resistance worsens, farmers should consider non-chemical weed management strategies like cover crops.

“We’ve known for quite a few years that a (cover crop) system can be very good at suppressing weed growth.  But the advantages of a cover crop system are really going to depend upon how it’s seeded, what (seed) we select, and are you going to target more of the winter annual weeds?  Or, are you going to try to do something to help give some suppression of later-emerging summer annual species like some of the pig weed species we’re dealing with now.”

He tells Brownfield rye is becoming a popular cover crop, but sometimes growers don’t seed it at a high enough rate.

“If we just fly that on into a standing corn field, we may not always get the best stand possible.”

 

He says drilling rye after harvest typically produces better stands, providing more biomass the following spring to limit weed pressure.

Brownfield interviewed Hager during the Balance GT Field Experience Tour near Adel in central Iowa.