X-Steam-inator uses electricity to cook the competition

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A new innovation unveiled at Canada’s Farm Progress Show kills weeds without herbicides. Instead of chemically terminating the plant, the unit simply overcooks them with steam.

“We produce steam at up to 200 to 300 degrees celsius and it kills everything that it touches,” says Ron Gleim, founder and president of the company behind X-Steam-inator, in the video below.

Born of Gleim’s background as a farmer, the machine is currently undergoing field trials, with the goal of a 60-foot demonstration unit ready in six to eight months and commercialization in about a year.

According to Gleim, the X-Steam-inator is safe, cost-effective and uses up to 80 to 90 per cent less water than a typical application of herbicide.

Weeds can be controlled prior to seeding, and the sprayer can be configured for weed control between crop rows. Work is also being done to explore the potential for chemical-free crop desiccation.

Hear Ron Gleim in conversation with RealAgriculture’s Kara Oosterhuis at Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina, SK.

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