Managing weeds growing between maize rows is made easier using Steketee’s range of specialist hoeing technologies, distributed through Lemken
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The Steketee EC-Weeder has been effective in trials of the machinery
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Recent university studies have proven the effectiveness of Steketee’s hoeing technology, ahead of the product’s release in Australia next year.
In a study conducted by the University of Applied Sciences of South Westphalia, in Germany, researchers found the Steketee EC-Weeder, working in conjunction with Lemken’s Azurit precision speed drill, was able to control weeds in all variations of a trial.
The results found the weeder, which was equipped with finger hoes and harrows as hoeing tools, effectively controlled weeds in the early stages of the plant’s growth, ripping the weeds out and then burying them.
Using a precisely set Steketee hoe, weeds were about to be controlled efficiently – from their early shoots through to the cotyledon leaf stage.
In the trial, the maize plants – grown in twin rows for optimal growing space – withstood the load of the mechanical hoe, even at the three-lead stage, and resulted in very little loss of crop.
Lemken says the harrow, compared to the figure hoe, had the added benefit of also working on a section in between the twin rows.
Larger weeds at the five and six-leaf stage were effectively combatted using ridging practices, with efficiencies of 85 per cent and above achieved depending on oprating speed, share width and soil conditions.
“When equipped with the right tools, the Steketee EC-Weeder proves to be a highly effective hoeing machine for mechanical weed control in maize, even with DeltaRow twin rows,” Lemken says.
“The smart camera system ensures reliable control at all stages of growth, as it can be set to twin row mode for young plants or single row mode for the final pass with large plants, depending on crop height.
“Conventional farms have the option to combine hoeing between the twos with bend spraying in the rows.”
The Steketee EC-Weeder will be available to the Australian market sometime in 2022.