Betting The Farm On Microwaves

Weeds zapped as farmers turn on microwaves - The Australian

Dr Brodie believes his microwave weed killer will be used both before farmers sow their winter grain crops across entire paddocks, and between close wheat or barley rows once the crops are growing, using precision GPS-controlled technology to protect the crops but kill inter-row weeds.

"Herbicide resistance and environmental concerns already limit the chemical options available for weed management," Dr Brodie said. "In looking for alternative weed treatments, we have found that microwave treatment is immediate, chemical-free and leaves no residue at the treatment site."

The only potential downside of the technology is that it can also kill worms and other useful microbes in the soil down to a depth of about 5cm because of the intense microwave "heat" blast generated.

"But we are still working on a lot of those issues; ultimately we might even be able to incorporate weed-seeking (infra-red) technology in it so that the machine only turns its microwave rays on when it encounters a weed," Dr Brodie said.