Could the dawn of Level 4 robotic weeders facilitate a revolution in ecological weed management?

Abstract

AbstractEcological weed management (EWM) considers that not all non‐crop plants cause harm, and that non‐harmful species ‘aliae plantae’ should be retained to provide multiple positive benefits. Only plants causing ‘significant harm’ are defined as weeds and should be controlled. However, this is difficult to achieve with current herbicide and mechanical weeding technologies. Robotic weeders may be able to facilitate EWM. Four Levels of robotic weeders are defined: Level 1 are row followers; Level 2 identify individual crop plants and weed around them; Level 3 individually identify all plants and individually kill all non‐crop plants; Level 4 weeders individually distinguish crop plants, aliae plantae, and weeds and only kill the weeds, thus facilitating EWM. Currently only Levels 1–3 robotic weeders exist. The aim of proposing Level 4 robotic weeders is to highlight, particularly to roboticists, that the end goal of robotic weeding should not be crop monocultures, but biodiverse fields through EWM. It is envisaged that Level 4 robotic weeders would not just operate in vegetable crops, which are the current focus of Level 3 weeders, but in all crops, such as fruit trees, where they could, for example, control weeds in living mulches. It is therefore considered essential that weed scientists and roboticists collaborate to ensure that robotic weeders achieve EWM, not monocultures. If this vision can be realised, it could usher in a revolution in weed management.