Invention was created by an Australian farmer
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
A device created by an Australian farmer is being studied by researchers in Illinois to determine if it’s a viable option for producers to use in the fight against resistant weeds.
The Harrington Seed Destructor (HSD), developed by Ray Harrington, pulverizes small weed seeds during harvest, preventing them from germinating. The machine reroutes smaller pieces of chaff and crushes the smaller seeds mixed into the chaff, including waterhemp and palmer amaranth.
Researchers say HSD isn’t the universal solution to resistant weeds, but it’s a start.
“I don’t think it will be a game-changer by itself,” Adam Davis, weed scientist at the University of Illinois, who’s involved in studying the machine, told Iowa Farmer Today. “It will contribute to a much more effective integrated weed management strategy. When used with other tactics, it will take a lot more pressure off other tools.”
HSD can currently be pulled behind a combine but needs to specifically attach to each combine. But, according to Iowa Farmer Today, an engineering company said an integrated version could be available next year.
The integrated model would cost about $30,000, compared to $180,000 for the pull-behind model.
Davis said pull-behind machine is almost the same size as a combine. He could see farmers having a preference for the integrated version.
“I believe that the pull-behind model is too much of a hassle and too expensive for growers to do themselves,” he told Iowa Farmer Today. “But the integrated version should be at a price point that individuals can afford. We see equipment companies offering that as option.”
Last winter, researchers tested a variety of weed seeds in stationary tests, including waterhemp, cocklebur and giant ragweed. Iowa Farmer Today reports the machine was effective on “more than 99 per cent of the seeds.”