Webinar on Electric Weeding in Crop and Non-Crop Areas
First webinar of the WG 'Physical and Cultural Weed Control'
online, 12th of November 2026
Sign up for this interesting webinar, find the link in the event description
Webinar on Electric Weeding in Crop and Non-Crop Areas
Electricity has considerable potential as a non-chemical weed control method because it can kill aboveground biomass while also damaging or killing the underground storage organs of perennial weeds. But can electric weeding overcome its high energy requirements and relatively slow application speeds? How safe is the technology? Does it pose a risk of fire or negatively affect soil organisms? Can it be used in growing crops without damaging adjacent crop plants? And, importantly, how effective is it against perennial weeds?
In this webinar, four researchers will present their work addressing these questions.
Miranda Slaven (University of Western Australia and the Western Australian Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development) has conducted extensive research on electric weeding in broadacre cropping, viticulture and non-crop systems. Her work has evaluated weed control efficacy, crop safety, fire risk, soil impacts and the influence of field conditions on performance. She has also published a comprehensive review of electric weed control, examining its efficacy, safety and potential applications across a range of agricultural and non-crop systems.
Björn Ringselle (RISE Research Institutes of Sweden) has conducted several studies investigating both high- and low-energy electrical weeding, including its effects on annual and perennial weeds and on nearby crop plants.
Marcelo Moretti (Oregon State University) has studied electrical weeding in a range of crops, including orchards, hops and nurseries, as well as in non-crop systems, evaluating its efficacy against both annual and perennial weeds. His current research also explores pulsed electric field technologies for weed control and their potential applications against other agricultural pests, including weed seeds, plant pathogens and nematodes.
Erik Lehnhoff (Montana State University) has investigated the effects of long-term exposure to low-energy electricity on trees, shrubs and perennial weeds. His research also includes “electric mulching,” in which an electrified net covers an area and electrocutes plants when they grow into it.
Please register for the webinar under the following link
https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/F3s_GUkmSPG9u_TuOedZOw
The number of participants is limited to 100.