Evaluation of Autonomous Mowers Weed Control Effect in Globe Artichoke Field
The development of a fully automated robotic weeder is currently hindered by the lack of a reliable technique for weed-crop detection. Autonomous mowers moving with random trajectories rely on simplified computational resources and have shown potential when applied for agricultural purposes. This st...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2021-12-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/24/11658 |
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| author | Lorenzo Gagliardi Mino Sportelli Christian Frasconi Michel Pirchio Andrea Peruzzi Michele Raffaelli Marco Fontanelli |
| author_facet | Lorenzo Gagliardi Mino Sportelli Christian Frasconi Michel Pirchio Andrea Peruzzi Michele Raffaelli Marco Fontanelli |
| author_sort | Lorenzo Gagliardi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The development of a fully automated robotic weeder is currently hindered by the lack of a reliable technique for weed-crop detection. Autonomous mowers moving with random trajectories rely on simplified computational resources and have shown potential when applied for agricultural purposes. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of these autonomous mowers for weed control in globe artichoke. A first trial consisting of the comparison of the performances of three different autonomous mowers (AM1, AM2 and AM3) was carried out evaluating percentage of area mowed and primary energy consumption. The most suitable autonomous mower was tested for its weed control effect and compared with a conventional weed management system. Average weeds height, weed cover percentage, above-ground weed biomass, artichoke yield, primary energy consumption and cost were assessed. All the autonomous mowers achieved a percentage of area mowed around the 80% after 180 min. AM2 was chosen as the best compromise for weed control in the artichoke field (83.83% of area mowed after 180 min of mowing, and a consumption of 430.50 kWh⋅ha<sup>−1</sup>⋅year<sup>−1</sup>). The autonomous mower weed management achieved a higher weed control effect (weed biomass of 71.76 vs. 143.67 g d.m.⋅m<sup>−2</sup>), a lower energy consumption (430.5 vs. 1135.13 kWh⋅ha<sup>−1</sup>⋅year<sup>−1</sup>), and a lower cost (EUR 2601.84 vs. EUR 3661.80 ha<sup>−1</sup>·year<sup>−1</sup>) compared to the conventional system. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:38:11Z |
| format | Article |
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| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T04:38:11Z |
| publishDate | 2021-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-fbec361469324b3c945e789237420edf2023-11-23T03:36:20ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172021-12-0111241165810.3390/app112411658Evaluation of Autonomous Mowers Weed Control Effect in Globe Artichoke FieldLorenzo Gagliardi0Mino Sportelli1Christian Frasconi2Michel Pirchio3Andrea Peruzzi4Michele Raffaelli5Marco Fontanelli6Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyDepartment of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto 80, 56124 Pisa, ItalyThe development of a fully automated robotic weeder is currently hindered by the lack of a reliable technique for weed-crop detection. Autonomous mowers moving with random trajectories rely on simplified computational resources and have shown potential when applied for agricultural purposes. This study aimed to evaluate the applicability of these autonomous mowers for weed control in globe artichoke. A first trial consisting of the comparison of the performances of three different autonomous mowers (AM1, AM2 and AM3) was carried out evaluating percentage of area mowed and primary energy consumption. The most suitable autonomous mower was tested for its weed control effect and compared with a conventional weed management system. Average weeds height, weed cover percentage, above-ground weed biomass, artichoke yield, primary energy consumption and cost were assessed. All the autonomous mowers achieved a percentage of area mowed around the 80% after 180 min. AM2 was chosen as the best compromise for weed control in the artichoke field (83.83% of area mowed after 180 min of mowing, and a consumption of 430.50 kWh⋅ha<sup>−1</sup>⋅year<sup>−1</sup>). The autonomous mower weed management achieved a higher weed control effect (weed biomass of 71.76 vs. 143.67 g d.m.⋅m<sup>−2</sup>), a lower energy consumption (430.5 vs. 1135.13 kWh⋅ha<sup>−1</sup>⋅year<sup>−1</sup>), and a lower cost (EUR 2601.84 vs. EUR 3661.80 ha<sup>−1</sup>·year<sup>−1</sup>) compared to the conventional system.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/24/11658RTK GNSSrandom mowing patternenergy consumptionmechanical weed control |
| spellingShingle | Lorenzo Gagliardi Mino Sportelli Christian Frasconi Michel Pirchio Andrea Peruzzi Michele Raffaelli Marco Fontanelli Evaluation of Autonomous Mowers Weed Control Effect in Globe Artichoke Field Applied Sciences RTK GNSS random mowing pattern energy consumption mechanical weed control |
| title | Evaluation of Autonomous Mowers Weed Control Effect in Globe Artichoke Field |
| title_full | Evaluation of Autonomous Mowers Weed Control Effect in Globe Artichoke Field |
| title_fullStr | Evaluation of Autonomous Mowers Weed Control Effect in Globe Artichoke Field |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluation of Autonomous Mowers Weed Control Effect in Globe Artichoke Field |
| title_short | Evaluation of Autonomous Mowers Weed Control Effect in Globe Artichoke Field |
| title_sort | evaluation of autonomous mowers weed control effect in globe artichoke field |
| topic | RTK GNSS random mowing pattern energy consumption mechanical weed control |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/11/24/11658 |
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