Intra-row mechanical weed control: possibilities and problems.

Abstract For five years, graduate students of the Tillage Laboratory of Wageningen Agricultural University studied the effectiveness of intra-row weed control by brushes, tactile hoes and weeder harrows in combination with a drill planting system and paper pots. From the technical point of view, brushes and tactile hoes were effective, reducing the amount of herbicides needed to about 10% of the amount used by full width spraying. However, their high costs and low capacity make them unattractive for completely mechanized farming, although as a substitute for manual work, they may be quite profitable for organic farmers. Weeder harrows are relatively cheap and have a high capacity. Selectivity, a criterion for machine adjustment, could be improved in arable crops by planting in paper pots. Yield losses resulting from increased soil compaction caused by mechanical weed control with a light tractor instead of chemical weed control appear to be negligible.