Researchers have developed a more high-tech weapon against the invasive weed: artificial intelligence and machine learning. Using photos from Google’s Street View database, the researchers tracked down more than 2,000 cases of johnsongrass.
UC Davis researchers, led by Professor Brad Hanson, combat Orobanche ramosa, a parasitic weed threatening California's $1.5 billion tomato industry. Funded by the California Tomato Research Institute, the multidisciplinary effort focuses on detection, management, and long-term solutions.
UC Davis researchers explore electrical weed control as an alternative to herbicides. The project uses a tractor equipped with an electrical generator to deliver electrical energy to weeds, damaging their cells and causing rapid death. The three-year study assesses the machine's effectiveness, its impact on crop safety, and soil health.
Folks in Davis know Brad Hanson as the Weed Doctor, always available during the annual UC Davis Picnic Day festivities to answer questions about what’s that growing in the yard. He's equally knowledgeable about solving farmers’ issues, and that commitment was recognized recently when he was named a fellow of the Western Society of Weed Science. The distinction is the society’s highest honor and recognizes people who have made significant contributions to the society and to the discipline of weed science.
A driverless, autonomous weed cultivator is being tested at UC Davis, uprooting weeds with wheels of fingers as it travels. Steve Fennimore, Plant Sciences, is working with Simon Belin at Naio Technologies. The goal is to reduce labor, costs, and herbicide use.
The USDA will allow the release of a weevil (Ceratapion basicorne) in the United States to help control yellow starthistle, an invasive weed found in 40 of the lower 48 states. The weevils will initially be released in California. Brad Hanson, weed specialist in Plant Sciences, addresses management of yellow starthistle.
Three factors drive automation in vegetable crops: Employee shortages, availability of technology, and fewer new herbicides. Weed specialist Steve Fennimore, Plant Sciences, UC Davis and UC ANR, explains the importance of mechanization and robotic weeders, due, in part, to labor shortages and fewer herbicides.
Control of branched broomrape, a parasitic weed that can badly infest tomato and other crop fields, was addressed by UC Davis, UC ANR researchers — Brad Hanson, Mohsen Mesgaran, and Matt Fatino — at the annual Weed Day field day at UC Davis.
Weeds can result in yield losses in California’s specialty crops. They also harbor pests and diseases. In this video, weed specialist Steve Fennimore (Plant Sciences, UC Davis, and UC ANR) addresses the use of herbicides and hand labor, along with the cost of weed control.