Hit it light, and keep soil disturbance to a minimum. Also, work to maintain residue cover while the crop firmly establishes a canopy. Once the crop has shaded the soil, weed seed germination stops, and the crop gains the edge on weeds and is less vulnerable to competition for nutrients, sunlight, and water. For weed management in soybeans, especially narrow-row soybeans, a rotary hoe can be an effective tool. Rotary hoeing must be done just after weeds germinate, while they are still in the white-root stage.
Cultivation is an important tool for postemergence weed control.
Whether moisture loss is significant to the crop depends on ambient soil moisture. If weeds are not present or a surface crust is not hindering crop growth, then the cultivator should probably stay parked to conserve soil moisture as well as labor and machinery depreciation costs. This information subject to a usage policy .