iHSD tackles weeds at source by pulverising seeds in the chaff at harvest
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers (ASABE) thinks it is a good idea.
They have included the Integrated Harrington Seed Destructor (the iHSD) in their 2017 AE50 awards for the most innovative designs in engineering products or systems for the food and agriculture industries.
The iHSD is integrated directly into the chaff stream of a combine harvester to destroy weed seeds.
Fewer weeds emerge, enabling chemical control to be more targeted and efficient.
It is a new weapon against herbicide-resistant weeds.
De Bruin Engineering in South Australia is developing and commercialising the iHSD in-header seed destructor technology.
It gets its name from Western Australian farmer Ray Harrington.
He spent 20 years developing and researching how to help Australian farmers win the war against weeds, as herbicide resistant weeds become a critical issue in many areas of the country.
The chaff stream in the combine harvester is intercepted and fed directly into a high speed mill that pulverises it, including weed seeds.
De Bruin Engineering say a limited commercial release model of iHSD is now coming available for selected Case and New Holland combine harvesters.
