Mechanical control of broad-leaved dock with a robot
The German start-up Paltech presented, during a demonstration in Bad Aibling (Germany), a robot that can identify broad-leaved dock in grassland and mechanically destroy it. The robot, called Pratum, chops up the plant and its roots among the grass, according to the German website Agrarheute.com.
The Pratum robot resembles a small green box on wheels. At the front is an elevated camera that detects dock plants in grassland. Once the camera has identified the weed, the robot drives over it to destroy the plant. Exactly how this happens is not specified by Agrarheute.com, but the end result is a dock plant shredded together with its roots.
Sowing new grass immediately
After identifying broad-leaved dock, the machine shreds the weed down to a depth of 15 cm. Once the dock has been chopped up, the machine covers the bare spot with grass seed, allowing the turf to recover. According to Paltech, this reduces the chance of the dock returning.
Drone support
In the future, the Pratum robot is expected to be supported by a drone. This drone will fly low over the pasture, just a few meters above ground, to map the field. Using the collected data, hotspots of dock can be identified, and the optimal route through the field can be calculated. This feature is still in the testing phase, but Paltech says the first test results are promising.
