INTEGRATING THE WEEDSEEKER® TECHNOLOGY INTO WEED MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES IN SUGARCANE

THE WEEDSEEKER® TECHNOLOGY is widely used to spot-spray in grain crops. Infrared sensors are able to detect weeds from a brownish background. The sensors are coupled to a sprayer and the outcome is an automatic spot-spraying system that potentially applies less herbicide per hectare. BSES Limited is currently investigating use of the Weedseeker® technology in sugarcane cropping systems. Weed management of the inter-rows of ratoon cane crops has been identified as the most relevant use of Weedseeker®. An inter-row shield housing the nozzles has been developed to prevent cane damage from the broad spectrum and systemic herbicide (glyphosate). The prototype shield also protects and isolates the sensors, ensuring they are not triggered by exposure to cane leaves. In a trial implemented in Mackay in 2011, different weed management strategies including pre-emergent herbicides and / or glyphosate blanketsprayed by a hood or spot-sprayed with the Weedseeker® shielded sprayer were compared. All strategies using knock-down herbicides under shields or hoods were equally efficient in controlling weeds. Pre-emergent herbicides applied broadcast or banded were not really useful in this trial. Post-emergent strategies using the Weedseeker® shielded sprayer in November and December were very efficient in managing the emerged weeds (a different outcome would have been observed if the wet season had come early and the paddock not accessible). However, herbicide savings for the spot-sprayed treatments using the Weedseeker® weren’t as large as expected because the weed infestation in the trial was light and uniform in coverage, not in patches.