Postplanting operations such as rotary hoeing, row cultivating, and hand hoeing can help reduce dependence on herbicides. Rotary hoeing is a popular weed-management tool in parts of the midwestern United States. If preemergence or preplant herbicides are not performing adequately because of a lack of rainfall or some other reason, a rotary hoe can be effective when used after weed germination, but before weed emergence. Operate it at 10 to 12 miles per hour with enough drag to stir the soil and displace the small seedlings. Row cultivators should be used when weeds are small.
Shallow cultivation helps prevent injury to crop roots.
Newer innovations in cultivator design make the use of row crop cultivators more possible in reduced tillage systems. Finally, herbicides provide a convenient, economical, and effective way to help manage weeds. They allow fields to be planted with less tillage, allow earlier planting dates, and provide additional time to perform the other tasks that farm or personal life require. Herbicides may not be a necessity on some farms, but without the use of chemical weed control, mechanical and cultural control methods become that much more important.