Optimizing Herbicide Use in Fodder Crops with Low-Cost Remote Sensing and Variable Rate Technology
Source abstract
Abstract
The current Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) foresees a reduction of 50% in the use of herbicides by 2030. This study investigates the potential of integrating remote sensing with a low-cost RGB sensor and variable-rate technology (VRT) to optimize herbicide application in a ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) fodder crop. The trial was conducted on three 7.5-hectare plots, comparing a variable-rate application (VRA) of herbicide guided by a prescription map generated from segmented digital images, with a fixed-rate application (FRA) and a control (no herbicide applied). The weed population and crop biomass were assessed to evaluate the efficiency of the proposed method. Results revealed that the VRA method reduced herbicide usage by 30% (0.22 l ha−1) compared to the FRA method, while maintaining comparable crop production. These findings demonstrate that smart weed management techniques can contribute to the CAP’s sustainability goals by reducing chemical inputs and promoting efficient crop production. Future research will focus on improving weed recognition accuracy and expanding this methodology to other cropping systems.
Source: crossref · Quality: baseline
Research context
OpenAlex topics: Crop Yield and Soil Fertility · Soil Mechanics and Vehicle Dynamics
SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.
Affiliations
VALORIZA—Research Center for Endogenous Resource Valorization, Polytechnic Institute of Portalegre, 7300-110 Portalegre, Portugal
InovTechAgro—National Skills Center for Technological Innovation in the Agroforestry Sector, 7300-110 Portalegre, Portugal
Earth Sciences Department, NOVA School of Science & Technology, Campus of Caparica, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
INIAV—National Institute of Agricultural and Veterinary Research, I.P., 7351-901 Elvas, Portugal
Remote Sensing Laboratory—EaRSLab, MED—Mediterranean Institute for Agriculture, Environment and Development & CHANGE—Global Change and Sustainability Institute, Institute for Advanced Research and Training, Rural Engineering Department, School of Science and Technology, University of Évora, P.O. Box 94, 7002-544 Évora, Portugal
School of Agricultural, Forestry, Environmental and Food Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
GeoBioTec Research Center, NOVA School of Science & Technology, Campus of Caparica, NOVA University Lisbon, 2829-516 Caparica, Portugal
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples, Federico II, 80055 Portici, Italy
Funding
Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, I.P. (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology) · Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), Portugal · GEEBovMit
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