preliminary trial: the weedseeker

Preliminary Trial:

The WeedSeeker®

Primary Investigators:

Tom Kon, Alex Leslie, Cody

Musselman, Russell Rohrbaugh

The Product Purpose: Reduction of herbicide use in

locations that have a low to moderate

weed density (spot treatment)

NTech Industries, Inc.

Up to an 80 %

reduction in

herbicide use*

Will pay for itself in 1

year** These are statements that NTech

makes on its website

Controller & Sensors

How it Works

LED light source projects light onto the ground – about 2ft from the ground

Light that is reflected from the target (hopefully some Canadian thistle) is captured by a detector

The sensor determines if the reflected light matches that of green plants

If a green plant is present, a solenoid valve is triggered and the nozzle fires

Objective

To determine the efficiency, and efficacy

of the WeedSeeker®

- Determine the chemical and dollar

savings associated with the WeedSeeker®

technology

- Quantify the efficacy of the system

Location and Plots

Conducted in 07’ high density Fuji and

Honeycrisp Planting at FREC (8 rows)

1 Plot = 42 ft x 2 ft

32 Plots Total 16 low density, 16 moderate

density

The 07' planting was pooled into 2 larger

plots based on weed cover: Low density and

high density (a plot consists of a 10 tree

section from trellis post to trellis post)

Means of Analysis

Compare water usage of the

WeedSeeker® in low weed density

plots in the OFF (Flush) and ON

position

Repeat for the moderate weed density

plots

Calculate % savings and apply costs of

herbicides to the model

Estimated Herbicide Savings

TRTWeed

DensityWeed

SeekerGallons

Used DIFF gal % Savings

1 LOW OFF 3.10

2 LOW ON 0.55 2.55 82.23%

3 MOD OFF 3.10

4 MOD ON 1.55 1.55 50.00%

Cash Savings per Treated Acre

TRTWeed

DensityWeed

Seeker

Gallons per treated Acre

Cost per Treated Acre

1 LOW OFF 50.2 $42.67

2 LOW ON 8.9 $7.57

3 MOD OFF 50.2 $42.67

4 MOD ON 25.1 $21.34

Cost of the WeedSeeker®

Single Hooded 2ft Boom (SB102): $4,200

Single Hooded 3ft Boom (SB103): $5,460

Model 650 Sensor without a valve cartridge:

$850

Valve Cartridge: $200

Notes About Use

Consistency of Speed

Pump & Nozzle Size

Warm-up Time / Soil Calibration

Weed Height

Moss & Fallen Apples

Sensor Durability

Double Boom Savings on Fuel

When will you use a herbicide in

this fancy machine? Preliminary Trials were conducted with

Gramoxone and Prowl, however, the

results were inconclusive

In Summary

Strong possibility for tremendous savings

in weed management – up to 80%

In the offseason, further research will be

conducted to sync the speed of the ATV

and the WeedSeeker

USDA-NRCS EQIP Cost Share

Stay Tuned

Acknowledgements Freeman Showers, Terry Salada

My fellow investigators: Alex, Cody, & Russell

Dr. Jim Schupp, Dr. Tara Baugher, Katie Hess-

Reichard, Edwin Winzeler, Dr. Katie Ellis

Our friends at the Carnegie Mellon University

Robotics Institute: Sanjiv Singh, Marcel Bergeman,

Ben Grocholsky, Reuben Dise

Photographs by Evan Moore, and Tom Kon

Funding provided by USDA CSREES Specialty Crop

Research Initiative for Comprehensive Automation

for Specialty Crops

Questions??