The Weeds Are Winning
November 07, 2024 at 09:25PMShould you ever doubt humanity’s endless creativity, consider the list of ways weed scientists have devised to kill the pesticide-resistant weeds we’ve had a hand in creating: Steam. Lasers. AI. Pulverizing machines. Electrocution. Irradiation. Main’s piece is an engaging and accessible jaunt through the efforts weeds make to live, and the pains we increasingly go to in the name of our kale caesars.
Fennimore specializes in vegetables, for which there are few herbicide options, and there are fewer still for organic growers. So innovation is necessary. He developed a prototype that injects steam into the ground, killing weeds within several inches of the entry point. This has proved around 90% effective, and he’s used it in fields growing lettuce, carrots, and onions. But it is not exactly quick: It takes two or three days to treat a 10-acre block.
Many other nonchemical means of control are gaining traction in vegetables and other high-value crops. Eventually, if the economics and logistics work out, these could catch on in row crops, those planted in rows that can be tilled by machinery.
A company called Carbon Robotics, for example, produces an AI-driven system called the LaserWeeder that, as the name implies, uses lasers to kill weeds. It is designed to pilot itself up and down crop rows, recognizing unwanted plants and vaporizing them with one of its 30 lasers. LaserWeeders are now active in at least 17 states, according to the company.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2024/11/07/the-weeds-are-winning/
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