Robots and shocks: emerging non-herbicide weed control options for vegetable and arable cropping

Bloomer, Daniel J.; Harrington, Kerry C.; Ghanizadeh, Hossein; James, Trevor K.

doi:10.1080/00288233.2023.2252769

Cited by 9 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 121 publications

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“…(2) contact time with the plant; (3) surrounding vegetation, to ensure targeted plants are not shielded by other vegetation; (4) surrounding environmental conditions; and (5) the potential risk of fire (Bloomer et al 2024;Landers et al 2016;Lehnhoff et al 2022;Slesarev 1972;Vigneault et al 1990;Wilson and Anderson 1981).…”

Section: Electrical Weed Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is clear that electric weed control can be suitable for a range of cropping systems, with research suggesting that it can be successfully used to control a diverse range of species (Bloomer et al 2024;Landers et al 2016). Research by Landers et al (2016) in Brazil and Paraguay used a plant-electrode contact machine (16.6 km h −1 ) and obtained between 94% to 100% control after 28 d for weeds such as high mallow (Malva sylvestris L.), smallflower galinsoga (Galinsoga parviflora Cav.…”

Section: Electrical Weed Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Advancements and developments in the detection and control of invasive weeds: a global review of the current challenges and future opportunities

Roberts,

Florentine

2024

Weed Sci

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Weed invasion has become increasingly recognised as a major threat to the practice of sustainable agriculture and the maintenance of natural ecosystems around the world. Without effective and ongoing management strategies, many weed species have the aggressive capacity to alter ecosystem functions and reduce the economic potential of the land in which they have been introduced. Although traditional weed management strategies can be useful in eliminating certain weeds, these approaches can be costly, economically damaging, laborious and result in variable long-term success. To further add to these challenges, several weed species have now developed resistance to a range of herbicide modes of action, which, to date, have been the major mechanism of weed control. As a result, it is anticipated that the use of emerging technology will help to provide a solution for the economical and environmentally sustainable management of various weeds. Of particular interest, emerging technology in the areas of weed detection and control (chemical, mechanical, electrical, laser and thermal), have all shown promising signs of improving long-term weed management strategies. These methods can also be assisted with, or integrated alongside, other technology such as artificial intelligence or computer vision techniques for improved efficiency. To provide an overview of this topic, this review evaluates a range of emerging technology used for the detection and control of various weeds and explores the challenges and opportunities of their application within the field.

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Section: Electrical Weed Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Electrical Weed Controlmentioning

confidence: 99%

Advancements and developments in the detection and control of invasive weeds: a global review of the current challenges and future opportunities

Roberts,

Florentine

2024

Weed Sci

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“…Therefore, the utilization of robots for weed eradication holds great significance, as it not only enhances agricultural output but also safeguards the well-being of farmers. The utilization of robots for weed killing has become commonplace worldwide [43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52]. Nevertheless, the utilization of these robots remains uncommon in Vietnam due to the relatively high cost of these machines, which is not affordable for the majority of Vietnamese farmers given the prevailing economic circumstances.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Development of a prototype of weeding robot

Nguyen,

Tung

2024

Eng. Res. Express

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Weeds, or wild grasses, are naturally occurring grasses that grow in the wild without human cultivation. Weeds have detrimental effects on soil and crops, including competing with crops for space, nutrients, light, and moisture in the soil, which ultimately reduces crop productivity. Typically, herbicides are used to eliminate weeds, but all of these chemicals carry a potential threat to human well-being. This article presents a detailed plan for building a DELTA robot that is specifically engineered to eliminate weeds in agricultural environments. This article presents a systematic approach encompassing research, kinematics calculation, robot control, and the fabrication of a weed-killing robot prototype. The article proposes a prototype of a weed-killing robot with simple operation suitable for Vietnam's economic conditions. The experiments show that the robot can effectively remove different types of weeds from lettuce fields. The results show that the proposed prototype is completely capable of replacing humans, helping to improve productivity as well as protect health and help farmers avoid unwanted effects from herbicide chemicals.

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“…For decades, herbicides have provided easy-to-use, cost-effective weed management, but now, consumer preference for chemical-free food [1][2][3], awareness of environmental impacts [4,5], increasing regulations restricting agrichemical use [6,7], and the increasing prevalence of herbicide resistance [8][9][10] are forcing changes to weed management strategies [11]. The emergence of agritechnologies incorporating automation, machine vision, and artificial intelligence [12][13][14][15] and the development of new techniques for weed destruction [11,16,17] offer alternatives that minimise or avoid the requirement for herbicides and avoid soil disturbance and can work effectively in high crop or crop-residue conditions. Our focus has been on electric weeding, which we have previously discussed [11,18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The emergence of agritechnologies incorporating automation, machine vision, and artificial intelligence [12][13][14][15] and the development of new techniques for weed destruction [11,16,17] offer alternatives that minimise or avoid the requirement for herbicides and avoid soil disturbance and can work effectively in high crop or crop-residue conditions. Our focus has been on electric weeding, which we have previously discussed [11,18]. Slavin et al [19] provided a thorough review of the methods and equipment commercially available in 2023.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Electric Spatula: Killing Weeds with Pulsed Microshocks from a Flat-Plate Electrode

Bloomer,

Harrington,

Ghanizadeh

et al. 2023

Agronomy

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Seeking an easy-to-deploy, energy-efficient, non-herbicide weed control method, we tested a flat-plate electrode to apply pulsed electric microshocks (PMS) to a grass and four broadleaf weed species. The method can be deployed via a hand-held unit or as part of a fully automated system to control escape weeds in field crops. The effectiveness of the treatments and the relative energy discharges when applying similar electric doses to the plant leaves or to the plant when pressed to the soil with a flat-plate electrode were compared. The method killed only half of the treated Lolium multiflorum “Winter Star” plants, well below our target rate, but significantly reduced growth rates and indicated that effective treatment of <1.0 MJ ha−1 for treating five plants m−2 is possible. Polygonum aviculare L., Amaranthus powellii S. Wats., Amaranthus deflexus, and Solanum nitidibaccatum Bitter plants were successfully controlled, with the energy required to kill 100% of seedlings varying from 0.1 to 0.9 MJ ha−1, indicating that broadleaf weeds are more susceptible. This easily met our target effectiveness and efficiency goals. The discharged energy increased when the electrode pressed the plant to a dry soil surface rather than to the leaves only and increased further when the electrode pressed the plant to a wet soil surface.

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Robots and shocks: emerging non-herbicide weed control options for vegetable and arable cropping

Cited by 9 publications

References 121 publications

Advancements and developments in the detection and control of invasive weeds: a global review of the current challenges and future opportunities

Advancements and developments in the detection and control of invasive weeds: a global review of the current challenges and future opportunities

Development of a prototype of weeding robot

The Electric Spatula: Killing Weeds with Pulsed Microshocks from a Flat-Plate Electrode

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