Automation: The Future of Weed Control in Cropping Systems

ISBN-13: 9789402402575 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 265 str.

Stephen L. Young; Francis J. Pierce

Opis

This book presents a radically new approach to weed management that could change cropping systems. It covers fundamental principles on weed biology and engineering principles along with economics and market readiness associated with automated weed control.

Spis treści

Forward; Simon Blackmore
Preface; Stephen L. Young
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Scope of the Problem – Rising Costs and Demand for Environmental
Safety for Weed Control; Stephen L. Young, Francis J. Pierce, and Pete Nowak
Part I Agricultural Production Systems
Current State of Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems; Alec F. McErlich and Rick A. Boydston
Part II Principles and Merging of Engineering and Weed Science
Engineering Advancements; John K. Schueller
Plant Morphology and the Critical Period of Weed Control; J. Anita Dille
The Biological Engineer: Sensing the Difference between Crops and Weeds; David C. Slaughter
Part III Primary Weed Control Tools for Automation
Precision Planting and Crop Thinning; Scott A. Shearer and Santosh K. Pitla
Automated Mechanical Weeding; M. Taufik Ahmad, Lie Tang, and Brian L. Steward
Targeted and Micro-Dose Chemical Applications; Stephen L. Young and D. Ken Giles
Part IV Field Applications
Field Applications of Automated Weed Control: Western Hemisphere; Steven A. Fennimore, Bradley D. Hanson, Lynn M. Sosnoskie, Jayesh B. Samtani, Avishek Datta, Stevan Z. Knezevic, and Mark C. Siemens
Field Applications of Automated Weed Control: Northwest Europe; Jan Willem Hofstee and Ard T. Nieuwenhuizen
Field Applications of Automated Weed Control: Asia; Hiroshi Okamoto, Yumiko Suzuki, and Noboru Noguchi
Part V Economies for Automated Weed Control
Economics of Technology for Precision Weed Control in Conventional and Organic Systems; Florian Diekmann and Marvin T. Batte
Future Adoption of Automation in Weed Control; Josse De Baerdemaeker
Automation for Weed Control in Least Developing Countries (LDCs); Renan Aguero, Noel M. Estwick, and Edgar GutierrezPart VI Future Directions
Future Directions for Automated Weed Management in Precision Agriculture; Stephen L. Young, George E. Meyer, Wayne Woldt
Appendix
Glossary
Index

Blurb

This book shifts the paradigm that weeds can only be controlled using broadcast applications of chemical and mechanical techniques in distinct spatiotemporal scales, also referred to as integrated weed management. In fact, true integrated weed management is more than just diversification of techniques and for the first time could be achieved using advanced technologies. Automated weed control is not the proverbial ‘silver bullet’, but an entirely new approach in cropping systems where multiple weed control strategies are available for use at the same time.
In an automated system, sensor and computer technologies onboard a robot would first categorize each and every plant in a farmer’s field as either weed or crop, and then go on to identify the species of weed. Once those identifications were made, multiple weed fighting strategies located on a single platform could be applied to individual plants based on their biology. If the system identified a weed that’s resistant to Roundup™, for example, it could be spritzed with a different herbicide. Or an onboard cutting or flaming micro-tool could be used to kill the plant instead.
The production of a book that addresses weed control of the future will have profound impacts on current and future cropping systems across the globe. To date, no other resource exists on this important and rapidly advancing topic of automated weed control in cropping systems. In the near future, a new approach will be needed for managing weeds, especially with the challenges of weed resistance to herbicides, off-site movement of soil, fertilizers, and chemicals, an increasingly non-agrarian public, labor shortages, economies in recession, and the continued rural to suburban land use conversion. Automation is part of the solution.