TY  - RPT
AU  - Merfield, C.N.
PY  - 2007
TI  - Initial trials of a crimper roller in New Zealand
CY  - Lincoln
PB  - The Biological Husbandry Unit, Lincoln University
SP  - 8
Y2  - March
N1  - Initial trials of a crimper roller in New Zealand
N2  - A helical blade crimper roller was tested for its ability to kill five overwintered green manures: oats and peas; ryecorn; ryecorn and tares; tares; and tick beans in Canterbury, New Zealand.  Only tick beans and ryecorn were effectively killed, with vetch having strong regrowth.  Ryecorn, tares and ryecorn and tares mixture had the greatest weed suppressing effect.  However, based on the proportion of clover to grass growth it appears that ryecorn is locking up considerable amounts of soil nitrogen making it unsuitable for use on its own or without use of banded fertilizers.  A mix of ryecorn with tick beans may have the better weed suppression effect of the ryecorn with the nitrogen fixation of the tick beans, both of which are effectively killed by the crimper roller.  Grass and clover that germinate with the green manures in the autumn are not effectively suppressed.  The long mulch left by most of the green manures was too thick to drill into, post crimping.  An alternative may be to drill into the standing green manure using advanced no tillage drills, e.g., inverted T slots using a winged disk opener.  More research is required, ideally in a long term trial, to compare winter fallow with winter green manures that are either mulched or crimped.  Identifying an optimal ratio of tick beans to ryecorn or similar cereal and the earliest date that the plants can be effectively killed is also required along with determining successful drilling approaches.  
UR  - http://www.merfield.com/research/initial-trials-of-a-crimper-roller-in-new-zealand.pdf
ID  - 1564
ER  -