ROBOTIC WEED WARS: NEW GAME, NEW PLAYERS, NEW RULES STEVE FENNIMORE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

Transcription

1 ROBOTIC WEED WARS: NEW GAME, NEW PLAYERS, NEW RULES STEVE FENNIMORE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, DAVIS

2 INTRODUCTION Agricultural labor costs are rising Specialty crops are very labor intensive and need greater automation Weed control costs are much higher in vegetable crops than in agronomic crops Weed automation is needed in both agronomic and specialty crops

3 Lettuce must look perfect or it is not harvested

4 Weed Management Practices & Costs 2015* Practice Romaine Hearts ($/acre) Organic Spinach ($/acre) Herbicide application 51 0 Mechanical cultivation Hand weeding Total weed mgt cost * Source: UC Cooperative Extension Cost and Return Studies. Costs per acre include materials, equipment, and labor ($16.10/hr. field; $21.70/hr. machine).

5 COMPARISON COSTS FIELD CORN Field corn production labor cost/a $36 Field corn weed control cost/a $32 Iowa State University 2017

6 Projection of weed management costs with increase in minimum wage - example* Difference Field labor ($/hour) $ 3.50 Labor cost ($/acre) romaine hearts $ Labor cost ($/acre) organic spinach $ * Exercise projecting 30% increase for field labor and similar increase for machine labor, using 2015 UC Cooperative Extension Cost and Return Studies Hourly wage figures do not include a benefits package.

7 Hand weeding Practiced for decades in specialty crops Necessary due to few herbicides for flower, herb and vegetable crops Labor shortages and high labor costs mean that hand weeding is not sustainable for the long-term

8 Herbicides The main lettuce herbicide pronamide was registered in 1972 Discovery, development and marketing of new herbicides is ~$286 million & takes 11 years discovery to market Few new products

9 DEVELOPMENT COSTS: HERBICIDES VS. AUTOMATION Total costs million ($) $286 million Herbicide McDougall 2016 $12 million Automation Polsen DK, Mol NL 2016

10 WEED MANAGEMENT IN VEGETABLE CROPS BlueRiver Hand Hoeing Weeds in Tomato Mantis Ag Tech Hand Thinning & Hoeing Weeds in Lettuc Hand Weeding in Organic Lettuce Poulsen Steketee Weedy Lettuce Field

11 BEFORE THINNING AFTER THINNING

12 BLUE RIVER THINNER ON 80 INCH BEDS Salinas, CA

13 LETTUCE THINNING- INTERMITTENT SPRAYERS Saved plants Sprayed zone Saved plants Sprayed zone

14 LETTUCE THINNING AUTOMATIC VS. HAND Time minutes/a min/a 480 min/a Automatic Hand Jim Ostrowski, BlueRiver

15 LETTUCE THINNING Automatic thinning has been accepted and integrated into industry uses much less labor Requires a product to selectively spray to kill undesired lettuce eg. carfentrazone

16 INTELLIGENT CULTIVATORS These cultivators sense the crop with pattern recognition using machine vision Cultivator knives move in and out of plant row robotic hoeing

17 INTELLIGENT CULTIVATOR (IC) THE ROBOVATOR Computer Light Static knife Camera Mobile knifes speed sensor

18 ROBOVATOR ON 80 INCH BEDS

19 EFFECT OF CULTIVATOR ON WEED CONTROL AND WEEDING TIME Weed control Hand weed time Cultivator 2014-L 2015-B 2014-L 2015-B Control (%) Hours Acre -1 Standard 57 b 35 b 38 a 24 a Robovator 84 a 74 a 27 b 13 b Difference % +27% +39% -29% -46%

20 1. AUTOMATION ROLE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR Train students in multiple disciplines needed for weed control automation technology, engineering, weed science Research needed for high-risk high-gain technologies Lasers Abrasives (sand blasting) Thermal methods (hot oil, serial flaming) Crop/weed identification

21 2. AUTOMATION ROLE FOR PUBLIC SECTOR Joint ventures between industry and public sector will create opportunities Create new companies and jobs Student internships and real world mentoring Ensure that students are being trained with skills relevant for a workplace with continuously changing technology

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23 ABRASION

24 Preliminary Hot Oil Tests Before u Heated Canola oil Sprayed on top leaves. Just After Temperature ( o F) Mortality 2 weeks post treatment (%) h After Giles & Slaughter

25 LASER

26 FRANK POULSEN PRECISION FLAMING

27 CONCERNS Private funding will not be adequate to serve needs of the industry as a whole Public good vs. private good Intellectual property protection Machines are harder to protect Lack of coordination and standardization Will it be assumed that this technology is only relevant to specialty crops?

28 AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES Ecorobotix - Swiss

29 OPPORTUNITIES Create a new cutting edge industry with high paying jobs Develop low risk methods of weed control not dependent on herbicides Develop sustainable integrated weed management systems less likely to develop herbicide resistance Develop new weed control tools for vegetable crops both conventional and organic Weed control devices are much more flexible than herbicides and can take advantage of new technologies as they develop

30 SUMMARY Automation of weed removal creates new tools to sustainably manage weeds with less dependence on herbicides There is need for public investment in this technology if the US wants to take a leadership role and develop a high value industry that creates good jobs, and ensures a safe and reliable supply of fresh produce