- Author: C. Scott Stoddard
- Posted by: Gale Perez
Published on: June 18, 2023
In melons, as with many annual crops, weeds that emerge in the plant row are the most difficult and costly to remove. There are only a few registered herbicides for CA melon production, and efficacy can be marginal depending on weed species and method of incorporation. As a result, mechanical cultivation followed by hand weeding are the main methods of weed management.
Technology may be able to help. Automated weeders, or robotic weeders, use cameras and computers to distinguish crops from weeds. They are equipped with either spray nozzles, lasers, or cultivators to remove weeds within the crop row. Research by UC Davis weed scientist Steve Fennimore has shown that automated weeders reduced labor use in lettuce production by an...
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