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Australian device kills up to 99 percent of weed seeds

The biggest topic at the University of Missouri Pest Management Field Day was weeds. One of the tour stops included information on a new method of control. University of Missouri researchers are working with an Australian company called Seed Terminator that makes a device to physically pulverize weed seeds coming from the back of the combine.

Missouri weed scientist Kevin Bradley is seeking farmer/cooperators with whom the University can do research with a retrofitted IH 8250 combine. Bradley says hundreds of the retrofitted machines are running in Australia. He estimates a cost of $40,000 to $50,000 thousand dollars to retrofit a combine, but Australian research cited on the Seed Terminator website indicates 98 percent to 99 percent effectiveness in killing the seeds of most weed species.