AgrotechDutch field robot maker AIGRO declared bankrupt
The maker of the AIGRO UP autonomous tool carrier for weeding and mowing was declared bankrupt on 19 October; its chief executive hopes a buyer will allow a restart.
Tags
Weeding
Agrotech
AgrotechEarth Rover's solar robot kills weeds with pulses of concentrated light
UK startup Earth Rover's autonomous CLAWS robot finds weeds with cameras and boils their growing tip with a focused pulse of light, with no herbicide, while it scouts the crop.
CropsDry autumn leaves UK crops patchy, with slugs and aphids catching growers out
Agronomists in Farmers Weekly's Crop Watch report protracted wheat emergence, written-off oilseed rape, slug damage in cloddy seed-beds and high aphid numbers as the promised autumn rain fails to arrive.
CropsHerbicide-resistant weeds spread in South Africa as agronomists urge integrated control
Ryegrass in the Swartland wheat belt is the best-known case. Agronomists from Corteva, Syngenta, CropLife and the University of Adelaide say rotating modes of action alone will not stop resistance.
Organic
Norfolk organic grower uses cereal and pulse bicrops to keep weeds out of peas
Matt England adds about 40 kg/ha of barley to his pulses; over five years, bicrops yielded 5-10% more than monocrops and improved gross margin in four of six comparisons.
VegetablesNext year's pumpkins start now: a Purdue expert on the 365-day crop
Purdue horticulture scientist Stephen Meyers says pumpkin fields are prepared in the fall on cover crops, and growers then face months of weeds, powdery mildew, bacterial spot and insects before harvest.
CropsCrop losses to weeds in India fall from 25% to 13.43% in a decade, ICAR study finds
Based on 1,622 on-farm trials from 2014 to 2024, ICAR's Directorate of Weed Research puts average yield loss to weeds at 13.43%, down from about 25% in its 2018 estimate, thanks to better weed-control options.
AgrotechKubota dealers to sell Kilter's AI spot-spraying robot across Europe
Kubota and Norwegian robotics firm Kilter have signed a European deal to expand sales and service of the AX-1, a robot that uses cameras and AI to find single weeds and hit them with tiny drops of herbicide.
LivestockWhy autumn is a good time to tackle perennial pasture weeds, and what to watch for
A Farm and Dairy column explains that perennial and winter annual weeds such as Canada thistle and poison hemlock are easier to kill in autumn, when they move reserves to their roots, but warns that some residual herbicides can stop clover seeded later.
Agrotech
AGCO shows autonomous grain carts, AI weed spraying and a voice assistant at Tech Day
At its Tech Day near Chicago, AGCO is demonstrating retrofit autonomy for mixed fleets, AI-enabled spot spraying and Aurora, an AI assistant that answers farmers' questions by voice or text.
AgrotechNDSU weeding robot reaches 96.5% efficacy in sugar beet rows without herbicide
North Dakota State University engineers built a robot whose three independently controlled sweeps follow the ground by RTK-GPS and force sensors, cutting soil disturbance by 48.7% in field trials.
AgrotechEcorobotix says its spot sprayer cut spray volume 84% in a grass seed trial
In a 2025 Oregon State University trial, the camera-guided ARA sprayer hit grass weeds inside a tall fescue seed crop with glyphosate, using 34 litres a hectare, the maker reports; the full research report is not public.
CropsFrom blister blight to red rust: spotting and controlling diseases in tea gardens
Fungal, algal and other diseases and weeds weaken tea bushes and cut yields; a guide to the symptoms of the main diseases and what to do in the garden.