This was presented to Pennsylvania tree fruit growers. It is a summary of our preliminary data from one field season of working with the WeedSeeker.

1. Preliminary Trial:
The WeedSeeker®
Primary Investigators:
Tom Kon, Alex Leslie, Cody
Musselman, Russell Rohrbaugh

2. The Product
 Purpose: Reduction of herbicide use in
locations that have a low to moderate
weed density (spot treatment)
 NTech Industries, Inc.
 Up to an 80 %
reduction in
herbicide use*
 Will pay for itself in 1
year*
* These are statements that NTech
makes on its website

4. Controller & Sensors

5. How it Works
 LED light source projects light onto the
ground – about 2ft from the ground
 Light that is reflected from the target
(hopefully some Canadian thistle) is
captured by a detector
 The sensor determines if the reflected light
matches that of green plants
 If a green plant is present, a solenoid
valve is triggered and the nozzle fires

6. Objective
 To determine the efficiency, and efficacy
of the WeedSeeker®
- Determine the chemical and dollar
savings associated with the WeedSeeker®
technology
- Quantify the efficacy of the system

7. Location and Plots
 Conducted in 07’ high density Fuji and
Honeycrisp Planting at FREC (8 rows)
 1 Plot = 42 ft x 2 ft
 32 Plots Total  16 low density, 16 moderate
density
 The 07' planting was pooled into 2 larger
plots based on weed cover: Low density and
high density (a plot consists of a 10 tree
section from trellis post to trellis post)

8. Means of Analysis
 Compare water usage of the
WeedSeeker® in low weed density
plots in the OFF (Flush) and ON
position
 Repeat for the moderate weed density
plots
 Calculate % savings and apply costs of
herbicides to the model

9. Estimated Herbicide Savings
Weed Weed Gallons
TRT Density Seeker Used DIFF gal % Savings
1 LOW OFF 3.10
2 LOW ON 0.55 2.55 82.23%
3 MOD OFF 3.10
4 MOD ON 1.55 1.55 50.00%

10. Cash Savings per Treated Acre
Gallons per Cost per
Weed Weed treated Treated
TRT Density Seeker Acre Acre
1 LOW OFF 50.2 $42.67
2 LOW ON 8.9 $7.57
3 MOD OFF 50.2 $42.67
4 MOD ON 25.1 $21.34

11. Cost of the WeedSeeker®
 Single Hooded 2ft Boom (SB102): $4,200
 Single Hooded 3ft Boom (SB103): $5,460
 Model 650 Sensor without a valve cartridge:
$850
 Valve Cartridge: $200

12. Notes About Use
 Consistency of Speed
 Pump & Nozzle Size
 Warm-up Time / Soil Calibration
 Weed Height
 Moss & Fallen Apples
 Sensor Durability
 Double Boom Savings on Fuel

13. When will you use a herbicide in
this fancy machine?
 PreliminaryTrials were conducted with
Gramoxone and Prowl, however, the
results were inconclusive

15. In Summary
 Strong possibility for tremendous savings
in weed management – up to 80%
 In the offseason, further research will be
conducted to sync the speed of the ATV
and the WeedSeeker
 USDA-NRCS EQIP  Cost Share
 Stay Tuned

16. Acknowledgements
 Freeman Showers, Terry Salada
 My fellow investigators: Alex, Cody, & Russell
 Dr. Jim Schupp, Dr. Tara Baugher, Katie Hess-
Reichard, Edwin Winzeler, Dr. Katie Ellis
 Our friends at the Carnegie Mellon University
Robotics Institute: Sanjiv Singh, Marcel Bergeman,
Ben Grocholsky, Reuben Dise
 Photographs by Evan Moore, and Tom Kon
 Funding provided by USDA CSREES Specialty Crop
Research Initiative for Comprehensive Automation
for Specialty Crops

17. Questions??