Full steam ahead for weed control

By KEVIN TAYLOR

The developers of a lightweight thermal weed and pest control Machine that simply bolts on to a tractor have their eyes set on Europe.

Richard Newson and Rod Innes have combined their ideas after working on the concept for several years.

The system has been tried in the Hawkes Bay in the past 18 months and was put on the market about two months ago. Already eight units have been sold.

Newson said European countries were demanding reduced use of chemicals and he hoped this system would help.

Thermal weed control systems are not new. Newson said the difference with this method was that it used vapour injected into a stream of very hot air to kill weeds and pests.

He has obtained patents in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Canada, Ireland, England and about six other European countries.

Innes is a shareholder in VaporTek, which makes the units and has a patent on the vital spray coil, a key component of the system that puts the water into the column of hot air the machine produces.

Thermal Options, which Newson owns with two other partners, will market and distribute the machine.

Legal and development costs have so far been about $500,000, around $200,000 of that going to secure the patents, Newson said.

Innes said his company had brought engineering disciplines to the idea and made it a reality.

"Richard has been working on it for a long time. We have introduced our technology to his concept and made it work, and developed it into a commercial product."

Napier-based VaporTek had been working on the idea for three years.

The main principle behind the system is the injection of water to create a vapour.

"The idea is to break down the green matter of the plant and burn out the root storage system," Newson said. "The whole thing is about reducing the use of chemicals and moving more towards sustainability."

Trials have been conducted at an organic farm run by Scott Lawson near Hastings, and at Montana vineyards in the region.

Montana Hawkes Bay vineyards regional supervisor Gary Wood said Newson's system worked well and it looked exciting.

Various prototypes had been trialled at Montana vineyards over the past four to five years.

"Richard's been coming up with a better model every year just about. The one that he's got now looks really good."

Wood said Montana was keen to move away from herbicides eventually to more sustainable weeding systems.

One disadvantage of the machine was that it took longer to apply than spraying. It was also expensive at about $8000, although running costs were minimal.

"We have been trying to develop an organic block in one of our vineyards and this is where we thought it would fit in - but eventually it would fit into the whole system as well," Wood said.

While there were obvious applications with organic farms, Newson said the machine could also have many uses in conventional farming.

"Let's just take it from the point of view of reduction in herbicides.

"If someone were to use the system in conjunction with chemicals but reduce the chemical usage by even 50 per cent, that's a huge thing."

Dr John-Paul Praat, a research consultant at Lincoln Ventures, has tested the machine and said it had potential.

Farmers would have to change their approach to weeding slightly, he said. One thing the system did not control was large weeds, but when weeds were smaller it offered "quite good control".

"I believe the system works and it certainly has a place in non-chemical weed control."

Newson said he had been working for years with thermal weed control using hot water, but found it impractical for horticultural and agricultural uses because of the excessive water requirements.

He said the driving force behind the machine's development was the potential of the European market, where he is in the process of appointing marketing representatives.

He already has people in South Australia and Victoria to market the machine, and South Australian wineries have expressed interest.

Innes said organic farming was growing at a huge rate overseas. "Obviously we are aiming for the international market, as well as New Zealand."