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Development of a novel mechatronic system for mechanical weed ...

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Definition <strong>of</strong> the problem and research objectives<br />

3 Definition <strong>of</strong> the problem and research objectives<br />

3.1 Definition <strong>of</strong> the problem<br />

According to the fact that <strong>mechanical</strong> <strong>weed</strong>ing should provide cultivation <strong>of</strong> the<br />

entire space around the crop plants, three different areas need to be recognised<br />

in row crops. The first is the “inter-row area”-that is, the area between rows.<br />

Mechanical <strong>weed</strong>ing <strong>of</strong> this area is more or less solved with different<br />

commercial tools available on the market. The second is the “intra-row area”-<br />

that is, the area between plants in one row and the third is the “close to crop<br />

area”-that is, the area nearest to the crop plant (Nørremark and Griepentrog<br />

2004). The definition <strong>of</strong> the inner border (diameter) <strong>of</strong> the close to crop area is<br />

highly dependent on the crop species and growth stages, as well as from the<br />

<strong>weed</strong>ing tool which is used. To ensure, with high confidence, that a <strong>weed</strong>ing<br />

tool will not cause any negative influence on the crop, the area occupied by the<br />

plant should be always increased with a so-called “protected” (ring-shape) area<br />

around it. Definition <strong>of</strong> the areas <strong>of</strong> great importance <strong>for</strong> the <strong>mechanical</strong> intra-<br />

row <strong>weed</strong> control is presented in Figure 3.1.<br />

Distance between<br />

successive rows<br />

Protected area<br />

In-row distance between plants<br />

Figure 3.1 Areas in the row crop field<br />

Plant area<br />

Crop row<br />

Crop row<br />

29

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