By Blake Jackson
A winter weeds workshop held on January 27 highlighted strategies for controlling weeds while protecting soil health, according to Danielle Doering, Regional Agronomy Educator with Cornell Cooperative Extension. Farmers and guest speakers shared practical insights on balancing effective weed management with long-term soil stewardship.
Tillage was a central topic of discussion. While it remains a useful and sometimes necessary tool especially in systems that incorporate manure or aim to reduce herbicide use - conventional tillage can negatively impact soil structure.
It disrupts aggregation, reduces porosity, and accelerates the breakdown of organic matter. On the other hand, no-till systems help preserve soil structure and organic matter but often depend more heavily on herbicides for weed suppression.
Herbicides are highly effective; however, overreliance can affect beneficial soil organisms such as mycorrhizal fungi and rhizobacteria. In addition, herbicide resistance is an increasing concern. In New York, troublesome weeds like water hemp and Palmer amaranth have already developed resistance to multiple herbicide classes.
Encouragingly, recent research indicates that occasional tillage - once every three to five years does not erase the long-term soil health benefits of no-till systems. Farmers may also consider targeted or reduced-tillage approaches.
These include using tillage only to address specific issues like compaction or perennial weeds, adopting strip- or zone-till systems to limit soil disturbance during planting, applying vertical tillage to manage residue, or deep ripping to relieve compaction while protecting surface organic matter.
Beyond tillage and herbicides, cultural practices play a vital role in integrated weed management. Narrow row spacing can help shade out weeds, diversified crop rotations disrupt weed life cycles, and cover crops suppress weed growth while reducing additions to the soil seed bank.
Photo Credit: gettyimages-mvburling
Categories: New York, Crops, Harvesting