The ControlinRoad project aimed to test different methods for controlling invasive plants and to evaluate their use on roadsides. - The result is a tractor-based machine which, as an alternative to chemical agents, makes it possible to combat invasive vegetation using an electrophysical method. The experts of the Competence Unit Bioresources of the Center for Health & Bioresources have collaborated with the company Zasso from Germany, among others.
Invasive non-native plants are an ever-increasing threat to native biodiversity, but they are also a heavy burden on humans, especially allergy sufferers. Therefore, it is important to develop effective methods for their control and at the same time reduce the use of herbicides. Together with the company Zasso, field trials were conducted to control ragweed (Ambrosia artemisiifolia) and Japanese knotweed (Fallopia spp) more effectively.
Friederike Trognitz, project manager at AIT, explains: "The Electroherb method uses electricity to destroy the plant cells from the leaf to the roots. In terms of effectiveness and cost, this method proved to be a good alternative to the use of herbicides, as cells and vascular bundles are irreparably destroyed. This method is much more reliable and faster than, for example, mechanically removing the plant, which may leave roots in the soil and cause them to sprout again." Trognitz explains further that this way the plants are removed in a targeted and sustainable way, without affecting the soil with herbicides. Especially in the case of ragweed, the Electroherb method achieved a higher control rate than the conventional method of mowing. The Competence Unit Bioresources coordinated the project and contributed its expertise in conducting and evaluating field trials.
The results of the project were an impulse for the company to develop a suitable adapter for the use on roadsides. The machine is sold as AgXTend XP and was featured in the newspapers top agrar online, Moderner Landwirt and BauernZeitung, highlighting the results of the AIT-led project. This is now being offered by Steyr together with Zasso for communities, urban farms and companies. The tractor-based machine is an alternative to chemical agents and enables electrophysical control of unwanted vegetation.
More information: http://www.controlinroad.org/