A Cheap Effective Technology to Replace Roundup and Other Pesticides

In the last several years, organic farmers that do not use herbicides, in the northeast and other regions of the US, have shown interest in using cover crop rollers (for high residue conservation tillage)

Glyphosate is a cheap and easy tool for conservation agriculture. But it is not the only one. Farmers in France, the US and elsewhere are experimenting with great success with front rollers (large, bladed cylinders mounted on the front of the tractor). These crush the cover crop, leaving a fresh mulch into which seeds planted using a normal direct seed planter attached to the tractors’ back. Fragile seeds benefit from the additional moisture that fresh mulch provides.

The total cost of that solution is lower than that of glyphosate, since no input is required and one run of the tractor is enough (glyphosate requires two, one for spraying and one for planting, thus more time and diesel is needed). . .

via Can Cover Crop Rollers effectively replace Glyphosate (and pesticides) ? — DES Daughter Network