Prototype of a Hoeing Robot for Non-Chemical Weed Control in Vegetable Production

ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER
ISSN 1849-1146
UDK 631.3+007.52:635.1/.8:632.5
DOI: https://doi.org/10.69680/ac.15.2.2

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. The terms under which this article has been published allow the posting of the accepted manuscript in an institutional or subject repository by the author(s) or with their consent.

Autori: Dragan Žnidarčič

BC Naklo, Strahinj 99, 4202 Naklo, Slovenia (dragan.znidarcic@bc-naklo.si)

ABSTRACT

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a prototype hoeing robot (HR) for non-chemical weed control in vegetable production. A controlled greenhouse experiment was conducted at BC Naklo (Slovenia) on four plots (30 × 30 cm) sown with garden cress (Lepidium sativum) and radish (Raphanus sativus). Three plots were treated with robotic hoeing, while one served as a control. Results demonstrated a progressive reduction in weed density: effectiveness ranged from 53–88% after the first hoeing, increased to 90–97% after the second hoeing, and reached 100% elimination after the third hoeing across all plots. These findings confirm the strong potential of robotic hoeing as a sustainable alternative to manual labor and herbicide use, particularly in organic farming systems. From an economic perspective, HR reduces reliance on seasonal labor and lowers long-term production costs, thereby improving farm profitability.

Key words: robotic hoeing, weed control, smart technologies

Prototip robota za okopavanje radi nekemijskoga suzbijanja korova u povrćarskoj proizvodnji

SAŽETAK

U radu je ocijenjena učinkovitost prototipa robota za okopavanje (HR) radi nekemijskoga suzbijanja korova u povrćarskoj proizvodnji. Kontrolirani pokus u zaštićenome prostoru proveden je u BC Naklo (Slovenija) na četiri parcele (30 × 30 cm) zasijane sjetvenom grbicom (Lepidium sativum) i sjetvenom rotkvom (Raphanus sativus). Tri su parcele bile tretirane robotskim okopavanjem, dok je jedna služila kao kontrolna varijanta. Rezultati su pokazali postupno smanjenje gustoće korova: učinkovitost se nakon prvoga okopavanja kretala od 53 do 88 %, nakon drugoga okopavanja porasla je na 90–97 %, a nakon trećega okopavanja postignuto je 100 %-tno uklanjanje korova na svim parcelama. Ovi nalazi potvrđuju izrazit potencijal robotskoga okopavanja kao održive alternative ručnomu radu i primjeni herbicida, osobito u sustavima ekološke poljoprivrede. S ekonomskoga stanovišta HR smanjuje ovisnost o sezonskoj radnoj snazi i dugoročno snižava troškove proizvodnje, čime se povećava profitabilnost poljoprivrednoga gospodarstva.

Ključne riječi: robotsko okopavanje, suzbijanje korova, pametne tehnologije

Cijeli tekst / Full text: https://haed.hr/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/AEC-2025-2-2.pdf