Five Ways Technology Is Changing Weed Management

By: Sonja Begemann

Weeds are constantly evolving, and fortunately, so is the technology to fight these pests. Farmers will have new defenses against problem weeds as early as this year, with more options to come as technology is fine-tuned.

Here are five innovative ways farmers and technology providers are helping in the fight against weeds. Some of this technology is available today, while some is a few years down the road. One thing is for sure, weeds are fighting an uphill battle against emerging technologies.

1. Killer robots stop weeds autonomously, even under the crops’ canopy. Researchers hope this research will give farmers access to a team of reliable, proficient and cost-effective robots to help manage weeds.

This project is bringing together scientists from a variety of disciplines including experts in machine learning, weed scientists and environmental ecosystems specialists. One reason is because weeds can look a lot like the crops they’re growing with—especially during seedling stages.

Machine learning helps address this issue. Experts apply principles that allow robots to acclimate to real-word uncertainties and differentiate between weeds and crops. The team has also developed the robot in a way that allows it to traverse variable, and sometimes rough, field conditions.

2. Artificial intelligence is helping farmers with weed and disease identification. BASF created the Xarvio scouting app that allows farmers to snap a picture of a plant to identify weeds or diseases. The company boasts over 90% identification accuracy.

The system was launched in 2017 for the European market and is already used in 90 countries with nearly 60,000 users. With its artificial intelligence platform, as each picture is added to the system, the system gets smarter.