Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
Technology is rapidly advancing in all areas of society, including agriculture. In both conventional and organic systems, there is a need to apply technology beyond our current approach to improve the efficiency and economics of management. Weeds, in particular, have been part of cropping systems for centuries often being ranked as the number one production cost. Now, public demand for a sustainably grown product has created economic incentives for producers to improve their practices, yet the development of advanced weed control tools beyond biotech has lagged behind. An opportunity has been created for engineers and weed scientists to pool their knowledge and work together to 'fill the gap' in managing weeds in crops. Never before has there been such pressure to produce more with less in order to sustain our economies and environments. This book is the first to provide a radically new approach to weed management that could change cropping systems both now and in the future.
Synopsis
Forward; Simon Blackmore
Preface; Stephen L. Young
Acknowledgements
Introduction: Scope of the Problem - Rising Costs and Demand for Environmental
Safety for Weed Control; Stephen L. Young, Francis J. Pierce, and Pete Nowak
Part I Agricultural Production Systems
Current State of Organic and Conventional Cropping Systems; Alec F. McErlich and Rick A. Boydston
Part II Principles and Merging of Engineering and Weed Science
Engineering Advancements; John K. Schueller
Plant Morphology and the Critical Period of Weed Control; J. Anita Dille
The Biological Engineer: Sensing the Difference between Crops and Weeds; David C. Slaughter
Part III Primary Weed Control Tools for Automation
Precision Planting and Crop Thinning; Scott A. Shearer and Santosh K. Pitla
Automated Mechanical Weeding; M. Taufik Ahmad, Lie Tang, and Brian L. Steward
Targeted and Micro-Dose Chemical Applications; Stephen L. Young and D. Ken Giles
Part IV Field Applications
Field Applications of Automated Weed Control: Western Hemisphere; Steven A. Fennimore, Bradley D. Hanson, Lynn M. Sosnoskie, Jayesh B. Samtani, Avishek Datta, Stevan Z. Knezevic, and Mark C. Siemens
Field Applications of Automated Weed Control: Northwest Europe; Jan Willem Hofstee and Ard T. Nieuwenhuizen
Field Applications of Automated Weed Control: Asia; Hiroshi Okamoto, Yumiko Suzuki, and Noboru Noguchi
Part V Economies for Automated Weed Control
Economics of Technology for Precision Weed Control in Conventional and Organic Systems; Florian Diekmann and Marvin T. Batte
Future Adoption of Automation in Weed Control; Josse De Baerdemaeker
Automation for Weed Control in Least Developing Countries (LDCs); Renan Aguero, Noel M. Estwick, and Edgar GutierrezPart VI Future Directions
Future Directions for Automated Weed Management in Precision Agriculture; Stephen L. Young, George E. Meyer, Wayne Woldt
Appendix
Glossary
Index