Laser Weed Control in the Farm Field: Why Growers Need To Give It Time

By Growing Produce

Creative measures involving robotics, lasers, and artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually ease the pain of weed control, many weed specialists agree, writes Thomas Skernivitz at Growing Produce. Until that day arrives, they temper their enthusiasm with patience and even a bit of caution.

“Whether it is a laser weeding approach, or a robot trained to pull up a weed while leaving the crop behind, it’s scientifically exciting,” says Stanley Culpepper, Extension Weed Scientist, University of Georgia. “Hopefully, these technologies advance to the point where their costs will improve, thereby making them more economically available to our producers. In my region, little adoption has occurred at this point.”

Advancements involving remote sensing, the ability to reliably and quickly detect weeds vs. crop plants, robotics, and targeted control technologies, such as lasers, will eventually produce the “greatest advancements in vegetable weed management since the introduction of synthetic herbicides,” says Jed Colquhoun, IPM Program Director, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“The sky is the limit,” he adds. “These automated technologies can operate continuously in the field and will help us address some of the labor shortages.”