Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-26T15:13:12.965Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Weeding performance of a spring-tine harrow as affected by timing and operational parameters

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 December 2020

Zhiwei Zeng ,
Amy Martin ,
Ying Chen  and
Xu Ma Open the ORCID record for Xu Ma [Opens in a new window]
Zhiwei Zeng
Affiliation:
Postdoctoral Research Associate, South China Agricultural University, College of Engineering, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China; Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Amy Martin
Affiliation:
Undergraduate Student, Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Ying Chen
Affiliation:
Professor, Department of Biosystems Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Xu Ma*
Affiliation:
Professor, South China Agricultural University, College of Engineering, and Guangdong Laboratory for Lingnan Modern Agriculture, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
*
Author for correspondence: Xu Ma, College of Engineering, South China Agricultural University, 483 Wushan Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong 510642, China. (Email: maxu1959@scau.edu.cn)
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The spring-tine harrow is gaining popularity for mechanical weeding. However, its weeding performance and mechanism have not been well understood. A spring-tine harrow was first tested in a controlled indoor soil bin at four different travel speeds (4, 6, 8, and 10 km h−1) with three different spring-loading settings (low, medium, and high). Then the harrow was tested in a wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) field at the same spring-loading settings at three different weeding timings (early, middle, and late) in 2019 and 2020. Soil cutting forces (draft and vertical), soil displacements (forward and lateral), soil working depth, weed control efficacy, weed density, and crop damage were measured. The results showed that the spring-loading setting had a more dominant effect on working depth and soil cutting forces than the speed. The soil displacements were more dependent on the speed compared with the spring-loading setting. Treatment effects on weeding performance indicators in the field were similar across years. Adjusting the spring-loading setting from low to high improved the weeding efficacy from 44.9% to 73.9% in 2019 and from 51.6% to 78.1% in 2020. Consequently, the final weed density was minimized at the high loading setting, with the reduction in 2020 being significant. The middle weeding timing caused the least crop damage, while reducing the final weed density by approximately one-third compared with the control (without mechanical weeding), which was the most desired outcome among the three timings tested.

Keywords

mechanical weed controlspring-tine harrowweeding timingtravel speedspring-loading setting
Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 69 , Issue 2 , March 2021 , pp. 247 - 256
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Weed Science Society of America

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

Associate Editor: Sharon Clay, South Dakota State University

References

[ASABE] American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (2012) Standards: S358.3: Moisture Measurement—Forages. St Joseph, MI: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Google Scholar
[ASABE] American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (2015) Standards: S526.4: Soil and Water Terminology. St Joseph, MI: American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers Google Scholar
Baerveldt, S, Ascard, J (1999) Effect of soil cover on weeds. Biol Agric Hortic 17:101–111 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barberi, P, Silvestri, N, Peruzzi, A, Raffaelli, M (2000) Finger-harrowing of durum wheat under different tillage systems. Biol Agri Hortic 17:285–303 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Botto, JF, Scopel, AL, Ballaré, CL, Sánchez, RA (1998) The effect of light during and after soil cultivation with different tillage implements on weed seedling emergence. Weed Sci 46:351–357 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cirujeda, A, Mari, AI, Aibar, J, Fenández-Cavada, S, Pardo, G, Zaragoza, C (2014) Experiments on mechanical weed control in saffron crops in Spain. J Plant Dis Prot 121: 223–228 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cirujeda, A, Melander, B, Rasmussen, K, Rasmussen, IA (2003) Relationship between speed, soil movement into the cereal row and intra-row weed control efficacy by weed harrowing. Weed Res 43:285–296 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cirujeda, A, Taberner, A (2006) Relating weed size, crop soil cover and soil moisture with weed harrowing efficacy on Papaver rhoeas and other dicotyledoneous weeds in Mediterranean conditions. Biol Agric Hortic 24:181–195 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cloutier, DC, Van der Weide, RY, Peruzzi, A, Leblanc, ML (2007) Mechanical weed management. Pages 111–134 in Upadhyaya MK, Blackshaw RE, eds. Non-chemical Weed Management. CAB International, Wallingford, UKCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dastgheib, F (2003) Timing and frequency of tine weeding in organic wheat and pea crops. Agron NZ 32:43–49 Google Scholar
Duerinckx, K, Mouazen, AM, Anthonis, J, Ramon, H (2005) Effects of spring-tine settings and operational conditions on the mechanical performance of a weed harrow tine. Biosyst Eng 91:21–34 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Erazo-Barradas, M, Forcella, F, Humburg, D, Clay, SA (2018) Propelled abrasive grit for weed control in organic silage corn. Agron J 110:632–637 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frey, JB, Entz, MH (2014) Organic voices: agronomy, economics, and knowledge on 10 Canadian organic farms. Pages 265–282 in Martin RC, MacRae R, eds. Managing Energy, Nutrients, and Pests in Organic Field Crops. Boca Raton, FL: Taylor & FrancisGoogle Scholar
Frick, B (2005) Weed management in organic systems. Pages 3–22 in Ivany JA, ed. Weed Management in Transition. Topics in Canadian Weed Science 2. Sainte Anne de Bellevue, Québec: Canadian Weed Science Society—Société canadienne de malherbologieGoogle Scholar
Johnson, EN, Thomas, AG, Leeson, JY, Shirtliffe, SJ, Brandt, SA (2011). Pages 45–58 in Cloutier DC, Leblanc ML, eds. Physical Weed Control: Progress and Challenges. Topics in Canadian Weed Science 6. Pinawa, Manitoba: Canadian Weed Science Society— Société canadienne de malherbologieGoogle Scholar
Johnson, WC, Davis, JW (2015) Perpendicular cultivation for improved in-row weed control in organic peanut production. Weed Technol 29:128–134 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurstjens, DAG (2007) Precise tillage systems for enhanced non-chemical weed management. Soil Till Res 97:293–305 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurstjens, DAG, Kropff, MJ (2001) The impact of uprooting and soil-covering on the effectiveness of weed harrowing. Weed Res 41:211–228 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurstjens, DAG, Perdok, UD (2000) The selective soil covering mechanism of weed harrows on sandy soil. Soil Till Res 55:193–206 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kurstjens, DAG, Perdok, UD, Goense, D (2000) Selective uprooting by weed harrowing on sandy soils. Weed Res 40:431–447 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Manitoba Agriculture (2019) Spring Wheat Production and Management. https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/spring-wheat.html. Accessed: June 28, 2019Google Scholar
McErlich, AF, Boydston, RA (2014) Current state of weed management in organic and conventional cropping systems. Pages 11–32 in Young SL, Pierce FJ, eds. Automation: The Future of Weed Control in Cropping Systems. New York: SpringerCrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKyes, E (1985) Soil Cutting & Tillage. New York: Elsevier. Pp 71–74 Google Scholar
Oerke, EC (2006) Crop losses to pests. J Agric Sci 144:31–43 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pannacci, E, Tei, F, Guiducci, M (2017) Mechanical weed control in organic winter wheat. Ital J Agron 12:336–342 Google Scholar
Pannacci, E, Tei, F, Guiducci, M (2018) Evaluation of mechanical weed control in legume crops. Crop Prot 104:52–59 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pardo, G, Cirujeda, A, Aibar, J, Cavero, J, Zaragoza, C (2008) Weed harrowing in winter cereal under semi-arid conditions. Span J Agric Res 6:661–670 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peruzzi, A, Silvestri, N, Gini, N, Coli, A (1993) Weed control of winter cereals by means of weeding harrows: first experimental results. Agric Mediterr 123:236–242 Google Scholar
Rahman, S, Chen, Y, Lobb, D (2005) Soil movement resulting from sweep type liquid manure injection tools. Biosyst Eng 91:379–392 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasmussen, J (1990) Selectivity—an important parameter on establishing the optimum harrowing technique for weed control in growing cereals. Pages 1–7 in Proceedings of the EWRS Symposium on Integrated Weed Management in Cereals. Helsinki, Finland: European Weed Research SocietyGoogle Scholar
Rasmussen, J (1991a) A model for prediction of yield response in weed harrowing. Weed Res 31:401–408 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasmussen, J (1991b) Optimising the intensity of harrowing for mechanical weed control in winter wheat. Pages 177–184 in Proceedings of the British Crop Protection Conference—Weeds. Brighton, UK: British Crop Protection CouncilGoogle Scholar
Rasmussen, J (1992) Testing harrows for mechanical control of annual weeds in agricultural crops. Weed Res 32:267–274 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasmussen, J, Mathiasen, H, Bibby, BM (2010) Timing of post-emergence weed harrowing. Weed Res 50:436–446 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasmussen, J, Nørremark, M (2006) Digital image analysis offers new possibilities in weed harrowing research. Zemdirbyste 93:155–65Google Scholar
Rasmussen, J, Svenningsen, T (1995) Selective weed harrowing in cereals. Biol Agric Hortic 12:29–46 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rydberg, T (1993) Weed harrowing—driving speed at different stages of development. Swed J Agric Res 34:107–113 Google Scholar
Sogaard, HT (1998) Automatic control of a finger weed with respect to the harrowing intensity at varying soil structures. J Agric Eng Res 70:157–163 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zadoks, JC, Chang, TT, Konzak, CF (1974) A decimal code for the growth stages of cereals. Weed Res 14:415–421 CrossRefGoogle Scholar