A German
company has developed a process resulting in reductions in herbicide usage. The
process involves 'sand blasting' weeds, followed by reduced herbicide
application.
Trials with various herbicides have shown that herbicide
usage can be reduced by between 70-90%. The process can be used in agriculture
and in industrial weed control, especially clearing weeds from railway tracks.
The basic technology involves blasting the weed with
material, usually sand, of a certain diameter at the same time and spraying with
a conventional herbicide at concentrations below the recommended rates.
The sand blaster has been designed to fit onto a conventional
spray-boom. The sand is fed into the centre of a revolving disk held in a
vertical position, the disk has radial flanges which force the sand downwards
and onto the plants.
Development trials for non-crop weed control involved using
the herbicide glyphosate at 30%, 20% and 10% the recommended active ingredient
level, excellent weed control was achieved even at the 10% level.
BTC, the company involved, specialises in inventing
environmentally friendly techniques.
BTC Biotechnik International, Etatsrätin-Doos-Strasse
19, 25554 Wilster, Germany, Fax +49 4823 940822.
[This
article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 36,
June 1997, page 19]