A Rotary Herbicide Wiper for Postemergence Weed Control in Perennial Horticultural Crops

Abstract

A rotary wiper was developed to apply herbicides selectively to weeds beneath horticultural crops such as fruit trees and ornamentals. Herbicide is delivered internally through a circular pipe manifold imbedded in a rotary polyurethane foam disk, thus avoiding herbicide drift. A free-wheeling bumper wheel, larger than the wiper disk, is mounted just above the disk causing it to move around a tree trunk or shrub on contact. The rotary wiper effectively applied herbicides to weeds within the row of fruit trees.