Small-scale
farmers are in great need of scale-appropriate weed management tools. The Weed Master is an innovative set of cultivation and flame-weeding
equipment, designed and built by a team of Finnish small-scale farmers. Two notable features of this tool represent
real innovation in this otherwise vintage implement. First, using two wheels and a scaled-down toolbar provides
lateral stability and adjustment flexibility. Second, lightweight parallelograms offer precise depth
control, and thus the opportunity to optimize soil movement (weed control) and
draft or effort required to push the implement.
Our on-farm field
evaluations, as well as a replicated comparison with widely-available weeding
tools, indicated that efficacy of weed control with the Weed Master was equal
to hand weeding, hoeing or using a wheel hoe, but offered dramatically greater
working speed which translates directly into dollars saved weeding. We also explored an innovative
mechanism for sharing results through a research blog (see:
gallandt.wordpress.com), which, since launching in May 2009, has had 2,111
visitors, with 68 on the busiest day, July 28, 2009, shortly after an article
in the MOF&G featuring the demonstration at the Peacemal Farm. We also developed a new YouTube
Channel, “Zeroseedrain” (http://www.youtube.com/user/zeroseedrain) which features
our preliminary evaluations of the Weed Master (over 300 views as of February 2010).
