Turn heat up on weeds
Turn heat up on weeds
DONT spray volunteer seeds and weeds – heat them to death.
This is the advice from Terrington Machinery which now distributes a range of tractor-mounted thermal weeders in 1.2m, 1.6m and 1.8m working widths.
The Herbiogaz thermal weeders use liquid propane which is vaporised and ignited through burners – with heat used to sterilise root crop seed-beds.
The burners are spaced every 12cm to 20cm on a boom housed inside an "oven" that is designed to create a heat bubble so that the seed-bed is exposed to the treatment for a prolonged period.
Terrington says the heat treatment works in two ways. It provides an initial thermal shock, followed by a penetrating heat as the oven passes over the seed-bed.
The thermal shock is designed to achieve temperatures of up to 1000C during a single second. Such a temperature is enough to bursts cell walls of emerging weeds and vaporises their water contents, says Terrington.
Unlike contact herbicide treatments, Terrington claims the thermal weeders leave no residue in the plant, soil or ground water and the system is not affected by different weather conditions.
Prices for the thermal weeders start at £4500. *
The Herbiogaz thermal weeders from Terrington Machinery are designed to heat seed-beds up to 1000C.