News & novelties 08/03/2023

Eliminating Weeds and Increasing Sugar Beet Biomass

One of the biggest obstacles sugar beet cultivation encounters is the infestations of weeds. We conducted a field trial aimed to assess the effectiveness of the ARA ultra-high precision sprayer in managing weed growth and reducing phytotoxicity in sugar beet crops.

Eliminating Weeds and Increasing Sugar Beet Biomass

Three different procedures were utilized. The first approach entailed leaving the sugar beets untreated, allowing weeds to grow freely. The second, applying herbicides using a broadcast sprayer. Lastly, employing our ARA to precisely target and spray the weeds.

From left to right - untreated sugar beets, sugar beets treated with a broadcast sprayer, sugar beets treated with the ARA ultra-high precision sprayer from Ecorobotix.

After a growth period of 10 weeks, it was concluded that ARA could successfully eliminate weeds and greatly reduce herbicide consumption by around 85% (compared to conventional broadcast spraying methods).

The untreated sugar beets exhibited satisfactory growth initially, but the excessive weed presence would have eventually overtaken and suppressed the crop. The utilization of ARA on sugar beets proved advantageous, leading to an almost twofold increase in crop biomass compared to broadcast spraying. This outcome strongly suggests the effectiveness of ARA's sugar beet algorithm in preserving the health and abundance of crops by mitigating phytotoxicity.

These results not only show potential economic advantages for farmers by enhancing crop yield through phytotoxicity suppression but also support the adoption of environmentally sustainable approaches.

Note: It's important to note that the results mentioned may not be representative of all situations and conditions. Local factors such as soil health, field history, herbicide choice, and growing conditions can influence the effectiveness of ARA. To further validate ARA’s capability, additional studies are currently underway, and results will be published later this year.

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