- Author: Amber Vinchesi-Vahl
- Posted by: Gale Perez

Conventional processing tomato weed management in California often includes pre-plant herbicides (trifluralin and/or s-metolachlor), followed by cultivation, and hand hoeing. Rimsulfuron herbicide can also be used in conventional systems and can be applied either pre or post transplanting. Post-transplant applications of rimsulfuron can selectively remove nightshades if applied when the weeds are very young, no more than 2 true leaves, however, long plant-back restrictions may limit its use. Therefore, the use of hand crews is often needed to remove weeds that emerge in the plant row, where standard cultivation equipment is ineffective.
Automated weeders, or robotic weeders, use cameras and computers to distinguish crops from...
- Author: Richard Smith
- Posted by: Gale Perez

In vegetable production, growers cultivate most of the bed leaving only a 4-inch wide uncultivated band around the seedline. Weeds not controlled by preemergent herbicides or cultural practices in the uncultivated band are ultimately controlled by hand. Labor costs have increased and availability has decreased in the last 4 – 5 years which has spurred grower interest in automated weeder technology. In the last two to three years, automated weeders have become available in the Salinas Valley. All current machines were developed and manufactured in Europe: the Robovator developed in Denmark by Poulsen Engineering and distributed by Pacific Ag Rentals (Salinas); the Steketee IC developed in the Netherlands and distributed by Sutton...
- Re-posted by: Gale Perez

From the UC Davis News Service • January 21, 2015
Led by Professor David Slaughter of the UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, the project recently received a $2.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture...