Watch the Weed Zapper work across University of Missouri test fields, and you could get a glimpse into the future.
“It’s a weed electrocution implement that we’ve evaluated for the past several years to see if we can help with the problem of herbicide-resistant weeds that we’re having in U.S. agriculture,” says Kevin Bradley, University of Missouri Extension weed scientist.
The concept of the Weed Zapper isn’t new, but the momentum behind finding different tools to control herbicide-resistant weeds is a driving force behind Bradley’s team exploring some out-of-the-box ideas.
“We’ve shown that it is possible and something that might be a part of our arsenal in the future,” says Bradley.
The Weed Zapper electrocutes whatever the bar on the machine touches. And while the idea dates back to the 1970s, Bradley says improvements in the technology could help make it a viable control option for farmers.
“There’s much more electrocution now than what there was in the ‘70s, and from our research, we’re showing that it’s certainly much more effective than what we saw back in the ‘70s,” he says.
A Sedalia, Mo., based company created the Weed Zapper that the University of Missouri is testing.
Bradley and his team are seeing the growing issues farmers face with herbicide-resistant weeds. He says both Palmer amaranth and waterhemp already show resistance to 2,4-D and dicamba, which means those two broadleaf weeds will be even tougher to control in the future.
“We have shown that we can get 90% or greater waterhemp control in July or August when they’re sticking above the soybean canopy,” Bradley adds.
The Weed Zapper works similarly to a rope wick, and Bradley says the data shows it could be an effective tool if the crop stage is right.
“You have to have a height differential between the crop and the weed in question,” he adds. “And lucky for us, our most problematic weed in the state of Missouri is waterhemp, and we often have a height differential between waterhemp and soybeans.”
Bradley has proof the tool works on weed escapes in soybeans, and the weed scientist says he also could see it as an option for controlling weeds in pastures.
As the Weed Zapper could be an answer to weed escape problems of today, it may also be a go-to-tool for farmers in the future.
