Cover croppers seeking to improve the effectiveness of using a roller-crimper to terminate standing covers ahead of the planter may want to consider adding flames to the procedure.

Recent Italian studies using three different roller-crimper designs and a separate propane-fueled flaming operation showed significant improvements in plant deactivation and more predictable and timely dry-down of rolled standing covers.

Using propane burners for agronomic weed control has previously been shown an effective method in various row crops in the U.S. For example, a popular 2010 study credited the practice with a 95% control rate on Larry Stanislav’s 300-acre organic corn, soybean and wheat rotation near Abie, Neb.

That research led to the development of a training manual for the practice in corn and soybeans and the commercialization of a 4-row banded/full propane weed control system marketed by Agricultural Flaming Innovations.

The flames do not harm soil micro-organisms nor do they involve tillage. Both subjects are increasingly important to growers seeking to improve soil health. Flaming can also be used in a timely manner regardless of wet soils or when wind might make herbicide applications unfeasible.

The practice has become an approved weed control method for organic farms.

Plant physiologists say exposing weeds, or green material, to flame temperatures above 1,299 degrees F devitalizes proteins within the plant causing a more rapid wilt and desiccation, although it does not destroy plant tissues.

Increasingly stringent European Union controls on herbicides, particularly glyphosate, spawned the 2016-17 Italian studies. University of Perugia researchers published results…