Throw n mow or throw and roll?

[ruskbucks]

If giving the option would it be better to mow wr with a brush hog or roll with a cultipacker? Is there advantages of one over the other? Winter rye will be sprayed first and then seeded with kale,rape, turnips, and radish.

 

[yoderjac]

Roll with the cultipacker. If the WR is sprayed, it is just a matter of getting it on the ground so it decomposes. A cultipacker will do several things in addition to putting the WR on the ground. It will press seed into the ground. If you did min-till, it will remove any air pockets. It will put an un-even surface on the soil to reduce run-off and allow rain to soak in better. This is more important on clay soils or on slopes. If you have a slope cultipack across it rather than up/down it.

Sometimes I'll do both WR is easy to kill, but some weeds can be more problematic. Weeds are more susceptible to herbicides when they are young with new growth. So, sometimes, I'll mow about 2 or 3 weeks before broadcasting and spraying. This gives decomposition a head start but more importantly releases established weeds to produce new growth and some of the weeds seed released during mowing will have sprouted and be killed by the herbicide. I'll then broadcast, cultipack and then spray in the same day.

Thanks,

Jack

 

[Catscratch]

I've done all 3 with equal success. One time I did all 3 in the same field; role, mow, and standing in alternating strips. In the end you couldn't tell it was stripped. Early after germination the mowed strips looked the best, but it all ended up the same.

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[yoderjac]

I've done all 3 with equal success. One time I did all 3 in the same field; role, mow, and standing in alternating strips. In the end you couldn't tell it was stripped. Early after germination the mowed strips looked the best, but it all ended up the same.

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I completely agree. When things go right and nature cooperates they all work great. It is only when she doesn't that you can see marginal differences. For example, when rain is stingy, and you just get one hard downpour, having dimpled soil can really change the amount of water infiltration in low OM clay. In better soils, you may see no difference. Likewise, if noxious weeds are not a problem, the mow before planting technique I mentioned may show no difference. But when weed competition is a big issue, it can make a difference.

So, like anything else, it really depends on your location, soils, and conditions, but in many cases it makes little if any difference as you observe.

Thanks,

Jack