permaculture

[Alia Tsang <alia@dietrick.org>]

http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/feb13/crops0213.htm

The results part:

They found that roller type and operating speed did not affect soil
moisture. At either speed, the rollers produced higher yields than the
control treatment in the first year of the study, when rainfall was
plentiful, and in the second year, when drought occurred. None of the
roller designs was as effective at killing the rye as the glyphosate
control treatment, however, with overall termination rates of about 50
percent, well below the recommended 90 percent. But that was because the
researchers did what most growers do: They planted the cash crop at the
recommended planting dates, which meant rolling the rye earlier in its
growth cycle than when it ideally should have been rolled. The researchers
believe that with improved timing, the rollers could produce optimal
termination rates.
 The results, published in 2012 in *HortScience,* give guidance to organic
vegetable growers who cannot use herbicides. The researchers recommend that
growers in Alabama minimize the risk of low termination rates by planting
rye by late September instead of mid-October so that it can be rolled 2
weeks earlier in the spring. They also recommend making multiple passes
with the roller to increase termination rates.