Once a good stale seedbed has been achieved and weeds have been sprayed off, make sure you don't do anything to disturb dormant seeds.

When setting the Rapid drill, ensure the cultivation elements of the machine are set at a reduced depth to the seed coulters. Many drill operators are tempted to set drill cultivation elements deeper than the seeding depth but this may cause a new flush of weeds with the growing crop.

In a minimum tillage regime, stale seedbeds flush out weeds pre-drilling as well as mixing previous crop residues to help them decompose. Soil structure should be addressed pre-drilling with a sub-soiler or shallow tined cultivator. There is no useful purpose in setting cultivation elements of the drill deeper than the seed coulters. Some growers have noted an increased incidence of weeds where they have allowed cultivation elements of their cultivator drill to work deeper than the seed coulters.