Agricultural robots do the weeding

Universities around the world are working on vehicles which could potentially tend to individual plants

A new generation of farming robots is being developed that can spray, harvest and weed crops. Universities around the world are working on vehicles that have been trialled in controlled conditions with positive results. 

But the technology is in danger of languishing in laboratories as nobody is commercialising it. Simon Blackmore, head of engineering at Harper Adams University College, said: “I don’t see any technological reason why we don’t have agricultural robots now.”

The robots could potentially tend to the needs of individual plants. For example, they could turn over just enough soil to cultivate a seed or drill planting lines that follow the contours of the land rather than in straight rows to suit existing machines. 

Blackmore said: “We can then treat each plant according to its requirements. Seeds will be precisely placed, according to soil moisture levels.” Tailoring processes at this level could make farming more efficient, and bring significant savings in the amount of tractor fuel and fertiliser needed.

Blackmore went on: “The potential boost to production we could generate if harvests were staggered to suit the crop rather than the mechanisation is immense.” Movements of the robots could be controlled by specially designed software, and they could operate on routes planned using Google Earth. 

One robot, called the crop scout, can measure crops, check for disease and send a robotic sprayer to areas affected by disease or pests. Trials of the device have seen a 98% reduction in the amount of pesticide and herbicide spray used on crops compared with conventional methods, which use blanket sprays. 

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