Economic Evaluation of a Weed-Activated Sprayer for Herbicide Application to Patchy Weed Populations
Anne L. BENNETT and David J. PANNELL
Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6907, Australia
The spatial distribution of weeds in a crop is patchy. Traditional boom sprayers waste herbicide by applying it to areas where weed density is already low. A new technology, WASP, uses sensors to detect the presence of weeds and control spray nozzles accordingly. The economic benefits of this technology to extensive crop farmers in Western Australia are investigated using a model based on the economics of information. We find that the existing technology is likely to reduce profits because the weed density at which it switches off spraying is too high. However, even if the sensitivity to low densities could be greatly improved, the likely benefits of pre-crop usage would still be very low or negative.
Citation: Bennett, A.L. and Pannell, D.J. (1998). Economic evaluation of a weed-activated sprayer for herbicide application to patchy weed populations. Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics 42(4): 389-408.