Precision Chemical Weed Management Strategies: A Review and a Design of a New CNN-Based Modular Spot Sprayer
Site-specific weed control offers a great potential for herbicide savings in agricultural crops without causing yield losses and additional weed management costs in the following years. Therefore, precision weed management is an efficient tool to meet the EU targets for pesticide reduction. This rev...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-07-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/7/1620 |
| _version_ | 1827598277378310144 |
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| author | Alicia Allmendinger Michael Spaeth Marcus Saile Gerassimos G. Peteinatos Roland Gerhards |
| author_facet | Alicia Allmendinger Michael Spaeth Marcus Saile Gerassimos G. Peteinatos Roland Gerhards |
| author_sort | Alicia Allmendinger |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Site-specific weed control offers a great potential for herbicide savings in agricultural crops without causing yield losses and additional weed management costs in the following years. Therefore, precision weed management is an efficient tool to meet the EU targets for pesticide reduction. This review summarizes different commercial technologies and prototypes for precision patch spraying and spot spraying. All the presented technologies have in common that they consist of three essential parts. (1) Sensors and classifiers for weed/crop detection, (2) Decision algorithms to decide whether weed control is needed and to determine a suitable type and rate of herbicide. Usually, decision algorithms are installed on a controller and (3) a precise sprayer with boom section control or single nozzle control. One point that differs between some of the techniques is the way the decision algorithms classify. They are based on different approaches. Green vegetation can be differentiated from soil and crop residues based on spectral information in the visible and near-infrared wavebands (“Green on Brown”). Those sensors can be applied for real-time on/off control of single nozzles to control weeds before sowing after conservation tillage and in the inter-row area of crops. More sophisticated imaging algorithms are used to classify weeds in crops (“Green on Green”). This paper will focus on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for plant species identification. Alternatively, the position of each crop can be recorded during sowing/planting and afterward herbicides can be targeted to single weeds or larger patches of weeds if the economic weed threshold is exceeded. With a standardized protocol of data communication between sensor, controller and sprayer, the user can combine different sensors with different sprayers. In this review, an ISOBUS communication protocol is presented for a spot sprayer. Precision chemical weed control can be realized with tractor-mounted sprayers and autonomous robots. Commercial systems for both classes will be introduced and their economic and environmental benefits and limitations will be highlighted. Farmers ask for robust systems with less need for maintenance and flexible application in different crops. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:48:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-489f30d332514f7383d52f4eaf6d49ee |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T03:48:15Z |
| publishDate | 2022-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-489f30d332514f7383d52f4eaf6d49ee2023-12-03T14:30:55ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-07-01127162010.3390/agronomy12071620Precision Chemical Weed Management Strategies: A Review and a Design of a New CNN-Based Modular Spot SprayerAlicia Allmendinger0Michael Spaeth1Marcus Saile2Gerassimos G. Peteinatos3Roland Gerhards4Department of Weed Science, Institute for Phytomedicine, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanyDepartment of Weed Science, Institute for Phytomedicine, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanyDepartment of Weed Science, Institute for Phytomedicine, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanyELGO-“DIMITRA”, Leof. Dimokratias 61, Agii Anargiri, 135 61 Athens, GreeceDepartment of Weed Science, Institute for Phytomedicine, University of Hohenheim, 70599 Stuttgart, GermanySite-specific weed control offers a great potential for herbicide savings in agricultural crops without causing yield losses and additional weed management costs in the following years. Therefore, precision weed management is an efficient tool to meet the EU targets for pesticide reduction. This review summarizes different commercial technologies and prototypes for precision patch spraying and spot spraying. All the presented technologies have in common that they consist of three essential parts. (1) Sensors and classifiers for weed/crop detection, (2) Decision algorithms to decide whether weed control is needed and to determine a suitable type and rate of herbicide. Usually, decision algorithms are installed on a controller and (3) a precise sprayer with boom section control or single nozzle control. One point that differs between some of the techniques is the way the decision algorithms classify. They are based on different approaches. Green vegetation can be differentiated from soil and crop residues based on spectral information in the visible and near-infrared wavebands (“Green on Brown”). Those sensors can be applied for real-time on/off control of single nozzles to control weeds before sowing after conservation tillage and in the inter-row area of crops. More sophisticated imaging algorithms are used to classify weeds in crops (“Green on Green”). This paper will focus on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) for plant species identification. Alternatively, the position of each crop can be recorded during sowing/planting and afterward herbicides can be targeted to single weeds or larger patches of weeds if the economic weed threshold is exceeded. With a standardized protocol of data communication between sensor, controller and sprayer, the user can combine different sensors with different sprayers. In this review, an ISOBUS communication protocol is presented for a spot sprayer. Precision chemical weed control can be realized with tractor-mounted sprayers and autonomous robots. Commercial systems for both classes will be introduced and their economic and environmental benefits and limitations will be highlighted. Farmers ask for robust systems with less need for maintenance and flexible application in different crops.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/7/1620automationherbicide reductionsensor-based weed controlsite-specific weed managementprecision farming |
| spellingShingle | Alicia Allmendinger Michael Spaeth Marcus Saile Gerassimos G. Peteinatos Roland Gerhards Precision Chemical Weed Management Strategies: A Review and a Design of a New CNN-Based Modular Spot Sprayer Agronomy automation herbicide reduction sensor-based weed control site-specific weed management precision farming |
| title | Precision Chemical Weed Management Strategies: A Review and a Design of a New CNN-Based Modular Spot Sprayer |
| title_full | Precision Chemical Weed Management Strategies: A Review and a Design of a New CNN-Based Modular Spot Sprayer |
| title_fullStr | Precision Chemical Weed Management Strategies: A Review and a Design of a New CNN-Based Modular Spot Sprayer |
| title_full_unstemmed | Precision Chemical Weed Management Strategies: A Review and a Design of a New CNN-Based Modular Spot Sprayer |
| title_short | Precision Chemical Weed Management Strategies: A Review and a Design of a New CNN-Based Modular Spot Sprayer |
| title_sort | precision chemical weed management strategies a review and a design of a new cnn based modular spot sprayer |
| topic | automation herbicide reduction sensor-based weed control site-specific weed management precision farming |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/7/1620 |
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