High technology at the service of physical weed control in the context of organic agriculture
High technology might be perceived as being incompatible with organic agriculture to the unacquainted. In fact, many still believe that organic agriculture implies a rejection of high technology. Nevertheless, research on non-chemical weed control methods has constantly progressed since the 1990’s, and currently there are many tools and techniques that originate from high technology. At the same time, existing strategies and methods, which could be characterized as low technology, are improved upon by using high technology solutions. The need to control weeds as close as possible to the crop row requires great precision when using cultivators. The development of new optical guidance systems using one or several video cameras placed on the cultivator improve precision by being able to identify crop plants and by steering the weeder without the operator’s intervention. Weeding on the crop row remains a challenge and several weeders have been expressly developed to address this problem. Among other weed control techniques in development, there is electroporation and cutting weeds on the crop row using lasers or water. The development of self-propelled, autonomous weeding robots using GPS and video cameras enabling them to distinguish crops from weeds has great potential in physical weed control. Research and development remain essential for the advancement of physical weed control.