WEED-IT: A new selective weed control system

An automatic selective herbicide spraying system for weed control has been developed. When driving at 10 km/h, the system can spray weeds with a spatial resolution of about 10 cm(2). Weed plants as small as 10 mm(2) can be detected. Thus, weed plants are sprayed upon, whereas parts of the treated surface where no weed is present are left free of herbicide. In comparison to full-field treatments, a considerable amount of herbicide is saved in this way, with positive effects on treatment cost and environmental friendliness. The system consists of a series of parallel opto-electronic weed sensors scanning the surface, velocity sensors, an industrial PC for data processing, and herbicide sprayers mounted behind the weed sensors. Unlike in other selective spraying systems, the weed sensors do not employ the reflectance properties of weed, but the fluorescence properties. Although the sensors have been originally developed for weed detection, modification of the optics makes them suitable for the detection of a wide variety of objects and chemicals in agriculture and industry.