Comparison of different mechanical weed control strategies in sugar beets

Abstract

In sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) weed control is commonly performed by herbicide application applied broadcast at splitting during the cultivation period. Mechanical weeding can be an alternative to chemical weed control. The aim of this experiment was the estimation of weed control efficacy with the use of automatic steering technologies by camera guidance, the use of different intra row weed control implements in conservation tillage systems and the influence of these techniques to the number of uprooted sugar beets. A field experiment with a randomized complete plot design was conducted in 2015 at Ihinger Hof, Germany. Weed density ranged from 0 to 12 plants m-2 with Chenopodium album, Polygonum convolvulus, Polygonum aviculare as the most abundant weed species. Hoeing with the use of automatic steering technologies reduced the weed density by 82%. The use of finger weeders, rotary-harrow and torsion finger weeder reduced the weed density by 29% compared to common hoeing strategies. Differences in the number of uprooted sugar beets were not found across all treatments. We revealed the possibility of a more intense use of mechanical weeding technologies in combination with precision farming technologies in sugar beet.

Keywords

• camera steering
• inter row weeding
• intra row weeding
• mechanical weed control
• sugar beets