Disc type implements should not be used for summerfallow tillage except when residue levels are extremely high. Sweep type implements, like heavy duty and field cultivators, are well adapted to most field conditions and provide good weed control. Adding harrows to cultivators doubles the rate of residue reduction. Use of harrows should be avoided except after harvest, when they may be used to spread straw. Wide blade cultivators, rod weeders, and cultivators with rods all bury less residue than other implements used for summerfallow.
Rods can bring crop residue back up to the soil surface to provide more soil protection.
They can leave the majority of crop residue in an anchored, partially standing position for greater soil protection. The Crop Residue Management Worksheet for Summer fallow is a tool to estimate the residue remaining throughout your tillage system. Using the worksheet, the conventional tillage system you are using now can be compared to a conservation tillage system. Factor values are provided which indicate the amount of residue remaining after each tillage operation. These values correspond to the values shown in Table 3.