Farmers need to rethink how they apply crop protection products and there’s plenty of novel weed control technology to address cost, labour and environmental stewardship challenges, says Cornell AgriTech weed scientist Dr. Lynn Sosnoskie.
At the Ontario Certified Crop Advisor annual meeting in January, Sosnoskie described a whirlwind of technology ranging from electrification and robot weeders to AI-powered precision sprayers and laser weeding technology.
Sosnoskie stressed that growers will need a full technology toolbox to tackle growing weed resistance issues. She notes that globally, 533 unique cases of herbicide resistance have been reported involving 273 species and 168 herbicides. In Canada, there have been 128 reports of resistant weed species, and 41 reports in Ontario.
And that’s not the only reason to trumpet technology. The impact of herbicide use on export market access, worker protection, crop safety, consumer preferences and the lack of new herbicides due to high development costs and long timelines are also reasons to pursue innovative herbicide application, stresses Sosnoskie.
In this interview with RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin, Sosnoskie looks at the opportunities weed control innovations bring to agriculture and highlights where different technologies could fit on the farm. She also offers insights on cost and return on investment. She notes that laser weeders, make by Seattle-based Carbon Robotics, come with a price tag north of US$1.5 million, but some high-value crop customers have reported a positive return on investment in as little as 300 days.
Technology at that cost is not a good fit for many sectors of agriculture, but Sosnoskie believes farmers will find a positive return on the right technology. “Some of that is going to be economic, some of that is going to be potentially environmental sustainability. So we have to be thinking about what these units can bring system wide to our agricultural production.” Watch the video below.
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