[Agriculture and Horticulture ] Emerging technology

[Tran, Lorraine I]

New 'seed destructor' will combat weeds

*                       May 25, 2010 

*                       Nicole Eckersley 

A device designed to stop the growth of weeds by destroying their seeds
before planting will be trialled this harvest by the University of
Western Australia.

The device, the 'Harrington Seed Destructor', was invented by Darkan
wheat farmer Ray Harrington to combat herbicide-resistant weeds,
particularly ryegrass and wild radish, by milling seeds to prevent them
germinating.

"I adapted an 85 year-old mining technology to build a high-impact,
high-speed cage mill which destroys 90-95 per cent of weed seeds,
preventing them from germinating," Mr Harrington said. "This discovery
came after years of trying other methods of destroying weed seed
including catching and carting, cooking and cremating."

Mr Harrington said meeting UWA's Winthrop Professor Stephen Powles was
the turning point in the development of the device.

"Steve was a guest speaker at a No-Till Farming Association reunion in
Kojonup and I told him about the mill. He said he had a gut feeling that
it would work and made the decision to trial it.  Since then the Grains
Research and Development Corporation has been heavily involved with this
project, by funding trials and the development of the machine."

The destructor is towed behind a header at harvest.  The header
separates the chaff fraction containing weed seeds from the straw, which
is fed into the mill.  This pulverises any weed seeds in the chaff
fraction and returns it to the paddock.

 

 

 

Source: Australian Food News

http://www.ausfoodnews.com.au/2010/05/25/new-seed-destructor-will-combat
-weeds.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+
AustralianFoodNews+%28Australian+Food+News%29

 

 

 

Lorraine Tran I Curriculum Manager 

 

VELS Design, Creativity and Technology  

VCE Agricultural and Horticultural Studies I VCE Food and Technology  

VCE Design and Technology I VCE Systems Engineering

 

Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA)

41 St Andrews Place I East Melbourne I 3002

 

W (03) 9651 4407 I M 041 933 1630 

E tran.lorraine.i at edumail.vic.gov.au
<mailto:tran.lorraine.i at edumail.vic.gov.au> 

 

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority provides high quality
curriculum, assessment and reporting that promotes individual life long
learning.

 

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