A ‘weed wiper’ developed by scientists of the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) has been awarded an Indian patent.
The invention, which was filed for patent in 2014, is of great help for farmers to check weedy rice (‘vari’ in local parlance) in paddy fields in the State. The technology was transferred to Raidco Kerala Ltd., a Government of Kerala enterprise, and the product is available in the market.
The novel wiper device was designed as part of the doctoral programme of Nimmy Jose, scientist at the Rice Research Station, Moncompu, of the KAU.
The research conducted by her under the guidance of C.T. Abraham, former Professor and Head, All India Coordinated Research Project on Weed Control, KAU, could also standardise an integrated strategy for the management of the highly persistent weedy rice in paddy fields.
The research programme was granted the best PhD thesis award for the year 2015 by the Indian Society of Weed Science.
Weedy rice is a product of natural hybridisation between cultivated rice and wild rice. Morphological and biochemical similarity of weedy rice to cultivated rice makes hand weeding and herbicidal control ineffective. As a result, weedy rice infestation has become a serious threat in the rice tracts of Kerala. Severe infestation and subsequent reduction in yield by 50-70% has forced many farmers to abandon rice cultivation.
Weedy rice generally grows taller by 15-30 cm than cultivated rice after 55-60 days of sowing.
The KAU Weed Wiper makes use of this height difference for the selective application of herbicides on weedy rice plants to destroy them.
The device is fast gaining popularity among farmers as it makes restricted application possible without contaminating soil or crops.
