Robotics in Weed Management: A New Paradigm in Agriculture

Machines are created to reduce the human drudgery to certain extent in day to day life. With the advancement in technology, robots are quite competent enough to do the tedious, complicated and repetitive work in any field of science and technology. In some robots, where artificial intelligence is used can perform the task faultlessly in an automated way. In agriculture, the use of robot requires a multidisciplinary approach, where engineering technology must be integrated with the principles of agriculture to make the system sustainable in a long run. Among the various issues in the field of agriculture, the infestation of weed is the major barrier both in crop and non-crop land areas. When the weeds are found in the crop land situation, there it competes with the beneficial plant for various resources such as moisture, nutrient, space, sunlight and CO
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. However, in non-cropped areas, it reduces the utilization of land and water. Robotics as a part of mechanical approach may be use to reduce the weed infestation either alone or in an integration with other feasible methods of weed management. The fundamental principle of the use of robotics in weed management is to destroy the weeds, those which are present in inter-row as well as intra-row of crop plants. It is suitable for the wider spaced crops, line sown crops, plantation crops and high value vegetables. Different types of robots may be used for weed control depending upon the need as well as the utility in specific crop land situation. In robotics, the sensor may detect the weed and control the weed chemically or mechanically. It can be used in adverse climatic and soil conditions for weed control in different situations. The use of robotics to control the weed is a technology driven process, which requires enormous automation in farm areas. In the context of Indian agriculture, the application of robotics is in the juvenile stage. Thus, it may be encouraged as a viable and sustainable option to the farmers for their greater benefits in future.