Robotic weeding in sugar beet

10 - 14 June 2024
University of Hohenheim, UHOH

Venue

Ihinger Hof Research Station of the University of Hohenheim, 71272 Renningen, Germany

Background of Summer School / Introduction 

The background of this workshop is to combine basic principles of Artificial Intelligence, sensor- and application technologies in plant protection with practical applications in robotic weeding in fields with sugar beet. The summer school is combined with a meeting of the EWRS groups on “Site-specific weed management” and “Physical and Cultural Weed Control”, therefore facilitating knowledge exchange between experienced researchers, master and PhD students.

Maximum number of participants

30

Pre-requisites

Participants should hold a bachelor or master degree, have a strong interest in and knowledge about precision farming and crop protection and know the basics about machine learning.

Application

Please fill in the online application form.

Deadline for Application

May 6th 2024

Course Content

At Ihinger Hof, we will set up two field experiments in sugar beet examining hoes that utilize different sensor systems for machine guidance and weed control. These are for example Farm Droid FD 20, Naïo-Tech Orio, K.U.L.T.-iVision and the Farming GT by Farming Revolution. During the workshop, we will analyse and compare the sensor systems for weed/crop identification and machine guidance. We will use Neural Networks to train weed species for automatic classification. We will select, mount and adjust the hoeing implements and decide on the appropriate herbicide mixture. Weed density, crop density, weed coverage and crop coverage will be assessed before, immediately after and 4 days after each treatment. Chlorophyll-Fluorescence Imaging will be used to measure stress on sugar beets due to the treatments. Soil temperature, soil water content and weather data will be recorded during the study. Weed control efficacy and crop losses will be calculated for each treatment. Driving speed of the robots, width and number of passes will be assessed during the treatments. The companies will be asked to provide costs and machine data to allow an economic analysis of the systems. Weed species diversity and greenhouse gas emission will be determined for each treatment to make an ecological evaluation. It is intended to summarize the results in a scientific paper.

Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)

After successfully completing the module, students are qualified in using sensor- and information technologies to identify weeds in crops. This includes both practical sensor measurements and the analysis and interpretation of sensor data. Based on field observations, sensor measurements and environmental data, students are able to derive holistic recommendations for crop protection and plan and realize plant protection measures.

Students enhance their organizational skills, self-reliance, time management and teamwork skills during preparation for the exam, while preparing and following up on lectures and during the exercises while preparing the presentation. They learn and practice both critical and analytical thinking and reading of scientific literature when preparing the presentation, while generally improving their ability of exploring a scientific subject. While preparing the presentations, students improve their scientific articulateness and further improve their oral communication skills.

Course Schedule

The course consists of an asynchronous online phase from May 27 - June 09 that can be completed by the students in their own time. It will prepare the students with basic knowledge about sensors, precision farming and experiments. This will be followed by a blocked part with lectures and practice on our research station in person from June 10 – 14. The week after the blocked part is to prepare an additional assessment. For students joining the Plant Health summer school in Pieve Tesino we will negotiate a separate deadline for this work.

Click here for more information about the course schedule/description of the workshop.

Course Language

English

Course Format

Asynchronous online phase (two weeks) followed by whole-day, in-person lectures and exercises (one week). Plus one week for last assessment.

ECTS Credits and Workload overview

Number of Credits [ECTS]	6
Total workload (hours	180
Student's own work [hours]	90
Contact classes + online phase [hours]	50 + 40
Exam	2

Type of Assessment

Online Phase: written abstract on current robotic weeding topic (10%)

Blocked Part: Presentation of results of the joint experiments (30%), as well as a written exam (55%).

Week after: Revision of presentation according to feedback (5%)

Cultural Activities / Social Program

Excursion to local hoeing machine producer/developer and a winery, BBQ dinner, exchange possibilities with experienced researchers and professors from the European Weed Research Society.

Costs

180€ (including food and accommodation)

Accommodation

Directly in the dormitory at the research station Ihinger Hof. The participants have to bring a sleeping bag and clothes for the field.

Health Insurance

Participants are responsible for an adequate health insurance during their participation in the programme.

Visa

Participants are responsible to check for themselves if a visa is necessary.

Coordination

Contact persons for scientific questions:
Prof. Dr. Roland Gerhards
Institute of Phytomedicine (360)
Department of Weed Science
Universität Hohenheim
D-70593 Stuttgart
Phone: +49 711 - 45922399
Fax.: +49 711 - 45922408
E-Mail: Roland.Gerhards@uni-hohenheim.de