Have you heard someone mention that they’ve been zapping weeds and wondered what they’re talking about? Electrical weed management, also known as weed electrocution or weed zapping, is a new approach to managing weeds by passing an electrical current through the plant, causing cell rupture and death. This is a non-selective, non-chemical weed management tactic that can be integrated with other practices to tackle difficult to manage weeds, including weeds showing resistance to herbicides. While electrical weed management has been shown to be effective on a broad spectrum of weed species, there are also limitations and potential safety hazards to be aware of before investing in this new technology.
To provide some insight into electrical weed control, the GROW Integrated Weed Management network is hosting a Farmer Forum on Wednesday, July 23rd at 11 am ET where you will hear directly from farmers, including Ohio farmer Jim Jacobs, about how electrocution fits into their weed management programs and the pros and cons that they’ve observed as they’ve used it on their farms. For a broad overview of the topic, check out GROW’s webpage on weed electrocution.
Listen in – and bring your questions – as farmers from Ohio and Maryland discuss their in-the-field experience with the Weed Zapper. Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) CEU credits will be available.
Speakers:
Jim Jacobs, Thistledown Farms, Napoleon, OH
Aaron Cooper, Cutfresh Organics, Eden, MD
Moderator Ryan Hamberg, Weed Scientist, Texas A&M University
Registration is free! Sign up here.
GROW, or Getting Rid Of Weeds, is a national network of weed scientists, extension educators, and outreach specialists working together to develop best practices and digital tools to support the use of integrated weed management to combat the herbicide resistance epidemic. GROW Farmer Forums are a series of webinars that allow farmers that have adopted integrated weed management practices and tools to share their experiences with their peers that might be interested in trying out something new.
To explore a variety of other integrated weed management resources, visit the GROW website, www.growiwm.org