Electric weed control: effective weed management with no damage to soil biology

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Date

2024

Conference Title

Adaptive agronomy for a resilient future. Proceedings of the 21st Australian Society of Agronomy Conference, 21-24 October, 2024, Albany, Western Australia

Place of Publication

Albany, WA

Keywords

Electro-weeding, integrated weed management, soil biota, Rhizoctonia solani AG8, fungal root pathogen, Lolium rigidum

Disciplines

Agronomy and Crop Sciences | Weed Science

Abstract

Electric weed control is a non-chemical weed management strategy used internationally as an alternative to current management tactics, including herbicides and tillage. This technique delivers an electrical current (via the continuous electrode-plant contact or the spark-discharge methods) through the foliage, stems, and roots of weeds, bursting their cells and killing the plant or suppressing its growth. However, it has been speculated that as the electrical current travels into the soil during the application, there may be an impact on soil biota, especially if they are connected to the root system. Ensuring effective weed control while minimising damage to soil biological populations is particularly important for organic growers globally. Using Rhizoctonia solani AG8 (the causal agent of Rhizoctonia root rot) as an indicator species, this research investigated the potential effect of electric weed control applications with the Zasso™ XPower machine on the soil biological community. The study found that electric weed control did not influence the R. solani population, even at slow application speeds of 1.4 km h-1 to maximise the ‘dose’ of electricity applied, and with repeated application at the same site. However, the electric weed control applications effectively controlled the weed population, with full senescence of mature annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum Gaud.) occurring after 2-3 weeks.

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