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Collaborative project: Autonomous weed hoeing in cereal crops with narrow row spacing - subproject 1 (Hackroboter)

Project


Project code: 2814900815
Contract period: 06.02.2017 - 05.02.2021
Budget: 179,486 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
Keywords: sensor technology, wheat, weed, digital world, resource protection, ressource efficiency, crop production, crop production

Farmers are facing severe problems with weed competition in winter cereal crops. Grass-weeds, including Alopecurus myosuroides and Apera spica-venti became very abundant in winter cereals, mainly due to high percentages of winter cereal crops in crop rotations, reduced tillage practices and continuous applications of herbicides with same modes of action. Several weed populations in Germany became resistant to herbicides. Consequently, alternative weed control methods are needed. Camera-steered weed hoeing may help to overcome these problems. However, weed hoeing in cereals was mostly restricted to cropping systems with wide row distances of more than 20 cm in cereals. Grain yields are reduced in cereal fields with wide row compared to narrow rows of 12-15 cm. Efficacy of weed control was also relatively low because hoes could not be steered close to the crop row with the manual guiding systems. Automatic sensor-based guiding systems for weed hoes can increase accuracy, weed control efficacy and reduce crop damage. Such automatic hoeing technologies can be applied at more than double speed compared to conventional hoes and thus significantly increase labour-efficiency. The objective of this project is to develop a new automatic guidance system for weed hoeing in cereals with narrow row-distances of 12-15 cm. It is intended to transfer this new technology into practical farming. Hoeing blades will be adjusted automatically with respect to row distance, size of blades and soil structures. This replaces manual adjustment of hoeing blades. The University of Hohenheim coordinates the research project. KULT develops with the University of Hohenheim a new camera-controlled weed hoeing robot. Hoeing blades are automatically moved closely along the rows of cereals crops with conventional row spacing. The camera also automatically adjusts the hoeing blades to the crop row spacing.

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