Tired of mucking through flooded rice paddies to control escaped weeds? Another weed-control strategy might be on the horizon, as Texas A&M researchers collaborating with the USDA-ARS showed that targeted spray drones could become the next big thing in rice weed management. This strategy can help keep weed escapes from replenishing your field’s weed seedbanks.
Targeted spray drones that used computer vision for weed detection successfully controlled anywhere from 62% to 95% of weed escapes in rice fields in the study led by Texas A&M grad student Bholuram Gurjar, Dr. Muthukumar Bagavathiannan, and USDA-ARS researcher Dr. Daniel Martin. Drone-based herbicide applications also decreased herbicide use by almost half compared to broadcast applications, but operators must account for drone downwash (the downward draft of air from the spinning propellers) knocking over tall weeds. Researchers note that the detection software needs further refinements to improve the detection of weeds that hide within the canopy or look similar to rice.
Targeted herbicide applications are increasingly important due to their potential for saving herbicide costs, avoiding crop injury, and possibly warding off herbicide resistance. The Texas A&M research comes as the targeted spray industry is getting up to speed in many other row crop production systems, Bagavathiannan notes.
Click here to see more...