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South Dakota | I've done it a couple of times. Did it last year at 2nd to third trifoliate, hot afternoon. Do not double roll. No overlapping the ends or you will lose population. I do stop about every 3 or 4 rounds and keep checking that I am not losing to many plants, it can be a little nerve racking, but a person starts feeling more comfortable with it the more you do.
If you use trash whippers and leave a very slight trench, you won't loose hardly a plant. I am speaking from a no-till perspective, all that trash keeps the roller from getting down hard right on the row of beans, but I think it would work in full tillage as long as you leave a small valley with you residue mangers.
For what it is worth, compared to neighbors who did not do this, My crop insurance said I had considerable better yield than most. I don't know if rolling had any play in that. I chose to roll after they were up since the soil was very saturated, densifying the top couple inches when it is wet and cool does not help an already slow growing bean (IMO).
I do think anyone who rolls will have a higher side by side yield with an area that isn't rolled, just because your combine cuts below more pods, especially in no-till. Rollers pay for themselves in many cases. It's crazy 25 years ago you hardly seen them anywhere. And back then, the combine heads were not as good. Growers in the 80's and 90's would have really benefited by using them.
I do hate how rollers can add to erosion problems but in no-till it is not quite as bad.
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Rolling beans after theyre up
