Field sprayer for inter and intra-row weed control: performance and labor savings

Abstract

Competition from weeds in row crops can cause significant losses in crop yields and impair crop quality, resulting in unnecessary economic loss for the farmer. For example, sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) yield may be reduced by as much as 95% due to shading and competition for light from weeds (Scott & Wilcockson, 1976), and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) yield losses resulting from weed interference can reach 88% (Miyama, 1999). Carrot (Daucus carota L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) yield reductions have been as high as 50% and 54%, respectively (William & Warren, 1975;Morales-Payan et al., 1996).Overall, the selection of a weed control method is influenced by the type and condition of the crop, the type and size of the weeds, the equipment available, and the time of treatment (Bainer et al., 1963). However, herbicides applied by field sprayers have been used most frequently because of their ability to control a broad spectrum of weed species, their proven efficacy, and their low cost compared to manual labor, such as hand hoeing. Where weeds have evolved resistance or are naturally tolerant to herbicide, a moderate amount of hand hoeing is required to remove intra-row weeds after chemical application. The current objective of precise herbicide application is to make operating input more efficient by minimizing overlap and skip incidents and eliminating application on non-crop areas. As this objective is achieved, fewer herbicides can be used compared to conventional application, resulting in lower cost and risk for the environment (Schroers et al., 2010).Field sprayer for inter-and intra-row weed control: performance and labor savings AbstractStudies of new tools and methods for weed control have been motivated by increased consumer demand for organic produce, consumer and regulatory demands for a reduction in environmentally harmful herbicide use, and the decreased availability of farm workers willing to perform manual tasks, such as hand weeding. This study describes the performance of a new sprayer system for commercial production that integrates two herbicide applications in a single pass, selective herbicide (SH) application in narrow bands over the crop row, and a non-selective herbicide (NSH) application between crop rows. A real-time kinematic (RTK) global positioning system (GPS) was used for autoguidance in seeding and spraying operations. Conventional broadcast SHs and experimental treatments were applied at a constant nominal speed of 5.5 km h -1 for comparison. Trials in commercial sugar beet fields demonstrated the following: (i) average hand-weeding time can be reduced by 53% (ii) the new sprayer system reduced SH use by 76%, and (iii) sugar beet density did not change significantly during treatment. These results demonstrate the feasibility of using the new RTK-GPS controller sprayer system for differential and efficient herbicide application in inter-and intra-row zones in row crop production.

Allelopathic and Autotoxic Effects of Medicago sativa—Derived Allelochemicals

“…However, herbicide-resistant weeds are the major constraint to weed control in modern agriculture. Additionally, hand weeding and mechanical weed control methods are expensive and labor intensive [5,6,7]. Furthermore, weed control via chemical herbicide use reportedly negatively impacts the environment and human health [8,9,10,11,12,13,14].…”

Impact of Automated Guidance for Mechanical Control of Herbicide Resistant Weeds in Corn

“…Carballido et al (2013) reported field trials using GNSS to apply banded selective herbicides with nonselective herbicides. Blake (2013) reported the use of automated guidance for both mechanical and chemical weed control practices in Arizona.…”

“…Blake (2013) reported the use of automated guidance for both mechanical and chemical weed control practices in Arizona. Slaughter et al (2012) and Carballido et al (2013) reported labor savings from weed control systems utilizing precision agricultural technology. Swinton (2005) provided an overview of an ecological weed management approach where site-specific tools were mated to the decision support system.…”

Analysis of the Effectiveness of Shielded Band Spraying in Weed Control in Field Crops

“…Attempts to control weeds in field crop cultivation has been presented by many authors [26][27][28][29][30][31]; however, due to the high availability of cheap plant protection products and their high efficiency, some of the results described were abandoned.…”