AAFC researchers are studying the Weed Zapper’s efficiency in fields
An electric shock is defined as a sudden discharge of electricity through a part of the body.
Now imagine you’re a weed standing in a field, minding your yield-robbing business when suddenly – zap!
That’s what’s going on at AAFC’s Harrington Research Farm in P.E.I. as researchers are studying the efficacy of a Weed Zapper.
“We have a 195,000-watt generator that’s PTO driven, and that goes to a boom on the tractor,” Nicolle MacDonald, a biologist with AAFC, told Farms.com.
Nicolle MacDonald (AAFC photo)
For context, that’s equivalent to the total wattage generated by 162 1,200-watt microwaves.
A wire connects the generator to large copper pipe mounted at the front of the tractor that can span up to 15-feet-wide.
When the weeds brush against the pipe, they are electrocuted.
Within minutes the weeds start to wilt. And within hours some have turned black and die.
MacDonald recently started a two-year project at the research farm testing the Weed Zapper.
She and the rest of the team want to find what the zapper does to the biomass of weeds once they’re hit, and if weed seeds are destroyed.
The current experiment targets weeds that grow above the crop canopy in horticultural crops like potatoes and carrots.
“When the weeds are above the crops it might not be until August,” she said. “So, the yield damage might already be set in stone. But we’re evaluating the seed viability of the plants we hit. Are we reducing the weeds that come up the following year? And are we helping to prevent resistance because we’ve stopped the next generation of weeds?”
Using the Weed Zapper comes with some flexibility.
The researchers can adjust the boom height to electrocute weeds when they’re smaller.
But this strategy may only work on certain crops.
“In potatoes, the potato is underground, so if we hit the top of the potato canopy, it might not kill the plant, but we might kill the weeds,” MacDonald said. “But in something like oats, that might not work because of where the kernels are.”
After the two-year study is over, the researchers will complete a cost benefit analysis to calculate comparing the electric weeding to conventional herbicide use.