Ecological and economic evaluation of conventional and new weed control techniques in row crops

Fishkis, Olga; Weller, Jessica; Lehmhus, Jörn; Pöllinger, Franz; Strassemeyer, Jörn; Koch, Heinz-Josef

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2023.108786

Cited by 5 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…In sugar beet, solely mechanical weed control is typically done with tractor hoes between the rows and with hand hoes within the rows. However, hand hoeing is very time consuming and expensive (Fishkis et al, 2024) and is only worthwhile for organic farmers because the selling price of organic sugar beet is three times higher than that of conventional sugar beet (Bundesanstalt für Landwirtschaft und Ernährung (BLE), 2023). For conventional farmers, the hand hoe is therefore not affordable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, however, broadcast sprayers capable of in-row herbicide band spraying were launched on the market, making in-row weed control better practicable in future. Additional weed control between rows with a tractor hoe is still required, but the additional labor and machinery costs are more than offset by the lower cost of herbicides, so that the total costs of modern combined mechanical-chemical weed control is about 25% lower than that of chemical weed control (Fishkis et al, 2024). The reduced use of herbicides by combined mechanical-chemical methods suggests a lower toxicological risk of herbicide exposure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Toxicological risk assessment of mechanical-chemical vs. chemical weed control techniques in sugar beet in Germany using SYNOPS-GIS

Fishkis,

Strassemeyer,

Pöllinger

et al. 2024

Front. Agron.

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IntroductionThe EU Farm to Fork strategy aims to reduce the use of pesticides and associated toxicological risks. However, the risks coming along with currently available alternatives to chemical weed control in sugar beet have not yet been evaluated. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the toxicological risks to arthropods, aquatic and soil organisms caused by mechanical-chemical in comparison to conventional chemical weed control in sugar beet.Materials and methodsThe risk assessment was performed using SYNOPS-GIS, a process-based model calculating the environmental fate of pesticides and the exposure risk to arthropods, aquatic and soil organisms.Results and discussionOverall, broadcast spraying of conventional herbicides caused low to very low toxicological risks in most regions and years in Germany. Nevertheless, there were considerably higher risks to aquatic and soil organisms from conventional broadcast spraying in northern Germany than in other regions of Germany. With conventional herbicides, mechanical-chemical weed control reduced toxicological risks proportionally to the reduction in application amount. In contrast, band spraying of the new herbicide with the active ingredients foramsulfuron and thiencarbazone-methyl caused an aquatic risk as broadcast spraying with conventional herbicides, although the application rate was 120 times lower. This was due to high toxicity of both active ingredients of the new herbicide to water plants.ConclusionsNot only the application amount of herbicides but also environmental toxicity should be included in assessment approaches such as the EU “Harmonized Risk Indicator”.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toxicological risk assessment of mechanical-chemical vs. chemical weed control techniques in sugar beet in Germany using SYNOPS-GIS

Fishkis,

Strassemeyer,

Pöllinger

et al. 2024

Front. Agron.

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“…Effectively controlling weeds on farmlands poses significant challenges to developing organic agriculture [11]. Compared with chemical methods, mechanical weeding does not pollute the environment; moreover, it loosens the soil, stores water, preserves moisture, increases soil temperature, and promotes crop seedling growth [12][13][14]. Therefore, mechanical weeding exhibits great application prospects in global dryland agricultural production [15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design and Experiment of a High-Clearance Mid-Tillage Weeder for Dryland Farming

Ye,

Zhang,

Wang

et al. 2024

Agriculture

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Mechanical weeding is an important technical means for organic and regenerative agricultural systems. Current weed control equipment has a variety of problems, such as difficulty adapting to high-stalk crops and poor operational quality. A high-clearance mid-tillage weeder (HMTW) has been developed to meet the mechanical weed control needs of high-stalk crops. The weeder mainly comprises a suspension device, a frame, parallel four-rod profiling mechanisms, weeding operation components, and depth-limiting soil-cutting devices. Based on the agronomic requirements of dryland flat planting, the overall structure of the HMTW was determined, and the weeding unit and flat shovel hoe were designed. Theoretical analysis was conducted on the depth stability of the HMTW, and an optimization mathematical model of the HMTW was established to further improve its tillage depth stability for agronomic requirements. The optimization objective was to minimize the deflection angle (∆β) of the profiling rod on a vertical plane, and the parameters of the parallel four-rod profiling mechanism were optimized. Based on the optimized structural parameters, a prototype of the HMTW was developed and evaluated. The test results show that the optimized HMTW exhibited a good weeding effect, and the tillage depth stability was within the design operating range. When the driving speed was 1.0 m/s and the tillage depth was 8 cm, the weed removal rate, seedling injury rate, seedling burial rate, and qualified rate of tillage depth were 90.8%, 3.2%, 4.1%, and 94%, respectively. The proposed HMTW successfully meets the weeding agronomic requirements of high-stalk crops for dryland farming, and the performance analysis and optimization models provide technical references for the design and development of such structures.

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Comparative Analysis of Life Cycle Impact Assessment Methodologies for Toxicity: A Case Study of Soil Remediation Technology in China

Zhao,

Zhang,

Cui

et al. 2024

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

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Toxic impacts arising from soil pollution pose considerable risks to the environment and to human health. The life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) distinguishes between ecotoxicity and human toxicity, based on the contamination medium. This study compared six LCIA methodologies for assessing toxicity and implemented them in evaluating soil contamination remediation, thus revealing differences in the methodological logic and characterization factors (CFs). The LCIA methodologies in soil remediation assessments highlighted significant effects from heavy metal and inorganic emissions. The ecotoxicity analysis, employing IMPACT 2002+, TRACI 2.1, and USEtox 2.12, found that emissions of heavy metals, particularly zinc, were notably influential. In terms of human toxicity, the carcinogenic effects were substantially higher than noncarcinogenic effects, with contributions from ReCiPe 2016 and TRACI 2.1 amounting to 99.734% and 99.517%, respectively. Varied results in toxicity assessments across different LCIA methodologies likely stem from disparities in model logic and CFs, limitations of LCIA models, and differences in toxicity categorization. This research strongly supports the further development and refinement of LCIA methodologies and the strategic choice of toxicity assessment methods across various industrial settings.

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Ecological and economic evaluation of conventional and new weed control techniques in row crops

Cited by 5 publications

References 19 publications

Toxicological risk assessment of mechanical-chemical vs. chemical weed control techniques in sugar beet in Germany using SYNOPS-GIS

Toxicological risk assessment of mechanical-chemical vs. chemical weed control techniques in sugar beet in Germany using SYNOPS-GIS

Design and Experiment of a High-Clearance Mid-Tillage Weeder for Dryland Farming

Comparative Analysis of Life Cycle Impact Assessment Methodologies for Toxicity: A Case Study of Soil Remediation Technology in China

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