Effect of Electrical Weed Control on Soil Health and Carrot Crop

   Carrot is an economically important crop in Michigan with limited control options for escaped and late-emerging weeds. Powell amaranth and horseweed are the most troublesome weeds, which escape from early management practices and cause significant issues at carrot harvest and reduce yield. Electrical weeding eliminates weeds that are taller in height than the crop canopy and has the potential to reduce the amount of between-row cultivation, herbicide application, and hand labor needed to achieve weed control. Upon contact with the applicator electrode, electric current is conducted through the weed and dissipated from the roots into the surrounding soil. The key advantages of electrical weeding are that it is chemical free, systemically kills the plant roots, and does not disturb the soil. While electrical weed control is gaining momentum as a promising new weed control method, fundamental knowledge of the technology’s impact on weed control, crop safety, and soil health are lacking. At present, it is unknown what consequences this influx of energy has on soil microbes. Therefore, field studies will be conducted in carrot to evaluate the effect of electrical weeding on weed control, crop safety, and soil microbial communities. These results will shed more light on potential damage to or stimulation of soil microbes/nutrients caused by electrical weeding and enhance the knowledge around the use of electricity-based weed control in carrot production systems. Greater knowledge of agroecosystem energetics and interactions at the plant/soil level will enable the electrical weed control industry to advance their technology to better serve the needs of producers. These results will be shared with growers through professional meetings, on-farm field days, and extension publications.