Method for pest control

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of controlling harmful organisms in the cultivation of cultivated plants. The present invention relates to a method for controlling harmful organisms, to a system for controlling harmful organisms and to the use of a digital application map for the application of one or more control agents against harmful organisms.

Claims

1. A method for controlling harmful organisms on a field on which cultivated plants are cultivated, which method comprises the following steps: (A) generating a digital harmful-organisms distribution map on which subareas on the field are registered, in which subareas the harmful organisms have been detected directly or indirectly; (B) generating a digital application map on the basis of the digital harmful-organisms distribution map, it being registered on the digital application map those subareas of the field on which subareas one or more control agents against the harmful organisms are to be applied, it being registered for each of said subareas a number N of treatments with one or more control agents, wherein N is greater than 1; (C) applying one or more control agents against the harmful organisms as per the digital application map from step (B), the number N for the treated subareas being reduced by 1; (D) repeating step (C) for each subarea until N has reached for the value zero, wherein control agents of differing formulations or differing mode of actions are used or the formulation or combination of control agents is varied from application to application.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein those subareas of the field in which subareas harmful organisms have been detected directly or indirectly in step (A) and in which subareas an economic threshold has been reached or exceeded are incorporated into the digital application map.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein there is incorporation into the digital application map in step (B) of those subareas of the field in which subareas there has been detection in step (A) of nests with harmful organisms that have survived after an application of one or more control agents.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the harmful organisms are weeds and/or grass weeds and the one or more control agents are one or more herbicides.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the harmful organisms are animal pests, and in which one or the plurality of control agent(s) are pesticides.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number N in the generation of the digital application map is set to two, three or four.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein a digital harmful-organisms distribution map is generated again as per step (A) after an effected application of one or more control agents to the subareas concerned, and additions are made in step (B) in the existing digital application map to those regions in which harmful organisms have been detected in the new digital harmful-organisms distribution map, the subareas in which N has not yet reached the value zero remaining in force and subareas in which N has reached the value zero being deleted.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the control of the harmful organisms with a control agent is accompanied by a physical control or in that a physical control of the harmful organisms takes place at least in part of the regions of the field in which regions harmful organisms have been detected, but in which regions no economic threshold has been exceeded.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein an initial N for a given subarea is based on a type of harmful organism associated with the subarea and is independent of overlap between the given subarea and another subarea.

10. A digital application map configured for display by a display device, the digital application map being descriptive of which subareas of a field for cultivated plants are registered, and which subareas are to be treated with one or more control agents against harmful organisms, wherein for each of these subareas an integer N is registered that specifies how many times the subarea is to be treated with one or more control agents for the harmful organisms, wherein N is greater than 1, and wherein control agents of differing formulations or differing mode of actions are used or the formulation or combination of control agents is varied from application to application.

11. The digital application map according to claim 10, wherein it is registered on the application map those subareas in which a harmful organism has reached or exceeded an economic threshold.

12. The digital application map according to claim 10, wherein the harmful organisms are weeds and/or grass weeds and the one or more control agents are one or more herbicides.

13. The digital application map according to claim 10, wherein the harmful organisms are animal pests, and in which one or more control agents are pesticides.

14. The digital application map according to claim 10, wherein the harmful organisms are fungi, and in which one or more control agents are fungicides.

15. The digital application map according to claim 10, in which subareas to be treated N times with one or more control agents have been incorporated at a point in time at which at least one of the subareas already existing in the digital application map has been treated at least once with one or more control agents.

16. A system for controlling harmful organisms, comprising: (a) a digital application map configured for display by a display device, the digital application map being descriptive of on which those subareas of a field which are to be treated with one or more control agents for the harmful organisms are registered; (b) a position determination system; (c) an application device comprising at least one container for accommodating at least one control agent against the harmful organisms, a spray device for applying the at least one control agent, and a control unit comprising a memory for reading in the digital application map, means for communicating with the position determination system and means for controlling the spray device, wherein a number N is registered on the digital application map for each of the subareas, which number specifies how many times a treatment of the subarea with the control agent is to take place, wherein N is greater than 1, wherein the control unit is equipped in such a way that the number N is reduced by one after a treatment has taken place, and wherein control agents of differing formulations or differing mode of actions are used or the formulation or combination of control agents is varied from application to application.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein the harmful organisms are weeds and/or grass weeds and the one or more control agents are one or more herbicides.

18. The system according to claim 16, wherein the control unit starts the application of at least one control agent by means of the spray device when the position determination system signals that the application device is situated at a site at which the application of the at least one control agent is envisaged according to the digital application map.

Description

(1) The invention will be more particularly elucidated below on the basis of an example.

(2) FIG. 1 shows different representations of a field at various points in time t.sub.1 to t.sub.6. The representations of the field are depicted as a rectangle. The top row labelled with U1 is a weed distribution map for the weed U1. The middle row labelled with U2 is a weed distribution map for the weed U2. The bottom row labelled with A is an application map for two different herbicides H1 and H2.

(3) Time is divided into six snapshots t.sub.1 to t.sub.6. In this connection, time advances column by column from left to right.

(4) Therefore, the first column depicts the field at a first point in time, the second column depicts the field at a later second point in time, and so on. The periods which lie between two columns can, for example, be the duration of a vegetation period (generally one year) of the cultivated plant which is cultivated on the field. The period can also be the vegetation period of a weed/grass weed. In general, the application of one or more herbicides has taken place in the time period lying between two successive columnsthis is depicted in the bottom row Aunless no weeds were detected over multiple time segments (last column).

(5) In the top row, it is depicted where in the field at the points in time t.sub.1 to t.sub.6 the weed U1 has been detected.

(6) Fields U1(t.sub.1), U1(t.sub.2), U1(t.sub.3), U1(t.sub.4), U1(t.sub.5) and U1(t.sub.6) therefore represent weeds distribution maps with regard to weed U1. Analogously, fields U2(t.sub.1), U2(t.sub.2), U2(t.sub.3), U2(t.sub.4), U2(t.sub.5) and U2(t.sub.6) represent weeds distribution maps with regard to weed U2. The distributions of weeds 1 and 2 could also have been pooled in a single distribution map, but they are depicted here separately.

(7) At point in time t.sub.1, a weed U1 was identified in the field; weed U1 was present in the form of a circular region (=subarea) (see U1(t.sub.1)).

(8) At the same point in time t.sub.1, there was no weed U2 in the field (see U2(t.sub.1).

(9) An application map A(t.sub.1) was created from weeds distribution maps U1(t.sub.1) and U2(t.sub.1). Since only weed U1 was detected on the field, application map A(t.sub.1) also contains only information and instructions with regard to weed U1. In application map A(t.sub.1), a circular region is marked with hatching, in which region weed U1 was detected in U1(t.sub.1). In said region, it is intended that herbicide H1 be applied. The numeral 3 above the hatched region indicates that this subarea is to be treated a total of three times (N=3) with herbicide H1.

(10) At a later point in time after the application of herbicide H1, it can be seen in U1 (t.sub.2) that weed U1 is clearly no longer to be detected in the prior circular region; the application of herbicide H1 was clearly successful. However, a crescent region next to the previous circular region has evolved instead, in which crescent region weed U1 was detected. Thus, weed U1 has shifted right in the field.

(11) In addition, a weed U2 has appeared (see U2(t.sub.2)). These findings yield application map A(t.sub.2). First of all, A(t.sub.2) shows that herbicide H1 is to be further applied in the circular region in which weed U1 was detected in U1(t.sub.1), even though it was no longer detected in U1(t.sub.2). This is precisely the core of the present invention: application map A(t.sub.1) is used/worked through multiple times. The numeral 2 above the hatched region indicates that this subarea is to be treated twice more (N=31=2) with herbicide H1.

(12) Application map A(t.sub.1) has been extended to A(t.sub.2) on the basis of the findings in U1(t.sub.2) and U2(t.sub.2). Since a crescent region of weed U1 has now been detected in U1(t.sub.2), the hatched region was extended accordingly in A(t.sub.2). The numeral 3 above the extended hatched region indicates that said extended region is to be treated a total of three times (N=3) with herbicide H1.

(13) In addition, A(t.sub.2) indicates that herbicide H2 is to be applied in the region (wavy region) in which weed U2 was detected in U2(t.sub.2). The number 4 below the wavy region indicates that this subarea is to be treated a total of four times (N=4) with herbicide H2.

(14) U1(t.sub.3) shows that the region containing weed U1 has shifted further right. In U2(t.sub.3), weed U2 has completely disappeared. A(t.sub.3) represents the application map associated with U1(t.sub.3) and U2(t.sub.3). In the circular region of A(t.sub.1), herbicide H1 is also to be further applied as per A(t.sub.3), specifically once more (N=1). In the crescent region too which was added to the circular region in A(t.sub.2), herbicide H1 is to be further applied, specifically twice more (N=2). In addition, herbicide H1 is to be applied in the region which newly appeared in U1(t.sub.3), specifically a total of three times (N=3).

(15) As per A(t.sub.3), herbicide H2 is, too, to be applied once again, specifically in the same region as in A(t.sub.2). No new regions with weed U2 were added in U2(t.sub.3).

(16) U1(t.sub.4) shows that no more weed U1 was detected on the field after the application as per A(t.sub.3). U2(t.sub.4) shows that no more weed U2 was detected on the field after the application as per A(t.sub.3). Nevertheless, herbicides H1 and H2 are applied as per A(t.sub.4). In the circular region from A(t.sub.1), no more herbicide H1 is applied for the first time in A(t.sub.4) (N=0). In said region, herbicide H1 was applied three timesthis number of applications is sufficient for permanently eliminating the nest.

(17) In the crescent regions which were added to the circular region in A(t.sub.2) and A(t.sub.3), application is to be carried out once again; once more (N=1) in the case of the crescent region that appeared first (see U1(t.sub.2)), twice more (N=2) in the case of the crescent region that appeared thereafter (see U1(t.sub.3)).

(18) The region from U2(t.sub.2) is to be treated with herbicide H2 twice more (N=2) in A(t.sub.4).

(19) In U1(t.sub.5) and U2*(t.sub.5), no more weed was further detected. Nevertheless, herbicide H1 and herbicide H2 are further to be applied as per A(t.sub.5): a last time (N=1) in the region of U1(t.sub.3) with herbicide H1 and a last (N=1) time in the region of U2(t.sub.2) with herbicide H2.

(20) U1(t.sub.6) and U2(t.sub.3) indicate that no more weed was further detected. As per A(t.sub.6), an application of a herbicide is not necessary.

(21) It should be additionally noted that this example did not explicitly mention the economic thresholds of weed U1 and weed U2. In this example, it could be assumed, for example, that whenever weed U1 or weed U2 was detected in the field, the economic thresholds had been exceeded.