Intelligent versus non-intelligent mechanical intra-row weed control in transplanted onion and cabbage

Non-chemical weed control methods are increasingly in demand for conventional field vegetables, mainly accentuated by regulatory restrictions on the use of herbicides. Intelligent camera-based systems capable of guiding mechanical weeding devices so as to avoid injuring crop plants are now available for practise. The aim of the present study was to compare the weeding performance of an intelligent mechanical weeding machine with non-intelligent tools such as a weed harrow, finger and torsion weeders. Two experiments were conducted in transplanted onion and two in transplanted white cabbage, focussing on weed and crop effects. In broad terms, intelligent weeding was not superior to the simpler tools in onion, and only minor differences were found that could be attributed to the settings of the non-intelligent implements. It was only possible to estimate the effects on weeds in the one cabbage experiment with intelligent weeding, which showed no noteworthy differences between the intelligent tool and the simpler ones. Finally, a competition study was conducted on the importance of untreated weeds in close proximity to the transplant as a result of intelligent weeding. It showed that intelligent weeding capable of cultivating the soil close to cabbage plants can provide satisfactory weed control without any need for subsequent manual weeding.