Weather update Crop protection
Chemical giant Nufarm gets into mechanical haulm killing
The Australian company Nufarm, best known for crop protection products and sowing seeds, is joining forces with the German startup Crop.Zone. The company from Aachen has developed a machine that kills weeds by means of electrocution. The technique can also be used for haulm killing in potatoes. The technology will also be available in our country from 2021.
Using electrocution to destroy weeds is far from new. It has been used for (much) longer in all parts of the world. In Europe especially the German Zasso gained fame with it. This company works closely with CNH Industrial, which markets it through the New Holland and Case IH brands. However, Crop.Zone's technique differs.
Conducting liquid
The 2-year-old German startup has, like the Zasso, a large generator on the back of the tractor. The frame that touches the weeds or plants also hangs on it. A modest field sprayer hangs in the front linkage to apply a conductive liquid. Nufarm sees a lot in technology and sees this as an opportunity to supplement its portfolio of crop protection products. In addition to chemical products, it also has a sustainable alternative available, regional general manager Hildo Brilleman said in a press release. It is especially interesting in crops where the possibilities for chemical weed control have declined.
Crop.Zone has been working on the technology in its home country of Germany for some time. Next year, the Benelux will be added and the first customers will be able to sign up for an 'early adapters programme'. According to the manufacturer, by pre-treating crops with a conductive liquid, energy consumption can be reduced, which in turn is sustainable and saves costs. The program is led by the Netherlands Michiel de Jongh, who previously worked for a long time at Monsanto and later at Syngenta.
Frying 12 meters wide
There are not many details about the Crop.Zone machine yet. The website states that it has a working width of 12 meters and therefore has to work three times faster than plowing. In addition to weeds and haulm killing, you can use it to 'fry' green manure crops without having to back down or use glyphosate or intensive tillage.
Several competing Zasso machines are now working in the Netherlands, which are also used in potatoes. The results of this are variable. It is reported that this company is also working on a solution with conductive liquid to enhance the result. If you apply too much voltage through the plant, you will also destroy the tubers. That is precisely its great strength with the problem weed Cyperus Cyperus. There the biological control method provides enormous advantages, because glyphosate does not work sufficiently.
Niels van der Boom
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