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Welcome to The Turf Zone podcast. This episode features research from North Carolina State University student Brooke Heikkila on machine vision-guided targeted herbicide applications for weed management in turfgrass.

In recent years, a variety of new spot spraying technologies have been introduced into agriculture that uses machine vision and artificial intelligence to selectively treat weeds. Targeted spraying opens the door to use nonselective herbicides or novel herbicide admixtures that were previously too expensive or injurious to turfgrass when applied as broadcast treatments. Targeted applications can substantially reduce herbicide use by lowering spray volume and treated acreage, providing both environmental and economic benefits. The first commercial machine vision-guided spot sprayer for turfgrass was recently launched at the 2026 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show; however, limited research has been conducted to quantify its benefits or optimize its use for turfgrass weed management.

Brooke Heikkila, an MS student in Godara’s Lab at North Carolina State University, is developing practical weed density thresholds and herbicide admixtures to optimize machine vision-guided targeted applications for turfgrass weed management. Brooke received her BS in Environmental Science from the University of Minnesota and recently completed the USGA Greenkeeper Apprenticeship Program. She is passionate about making meaningful contributions to the North Carolina turfgrass industry and is focused on developing innovative, practical solutions for turfgrass managers.

Brooke’s thesis research project, funded by Turfgrass Council of North Carolina, focuses on investigating different herbicide admixtures to control false-green kyllinga (Kyllinga spp.) in fairways, with the goal of improving weed control efficacy and resistance management strategies through targeted applications. In her recent work, they documented that turfgrass managers can use nonselective herbicides like glyphosate or tank mixtures that involve herbicides from different modes-of-action to control false-green kyllinga with minimal injury risk to desirable turfgrass on fairways. These targeted applications reduced the amount of herbicide volume used and treated area by at least 75% compared to traditional broadcast treatments. Although machine vision-guided sprayers require a substantial upfront investment, the magnitude of herbicide reduction has the potential to generate significant annual cost savings for turfgrass managers just in few years. Future work will focus on understanding how these savings will vary throughout a year-long management plan when combating a diverse spectrum of weed including grasses, sedges, and broadleaf weeds, using targeted applications.

While these cost savings are encouraging, differences between targeted and broadcast spraying may diminish at higher weed densities. To address this concern, Brooke is conducting an additional study to evaluate how herbicide usage from targeted applications varies across different infestation levels of annual bluegrass (Poa annua L.) in turfgrass. Even at 30% annual bluegrass cover, which is substantially higher than the typical weed cover observed on managed sites, targeted applications resulted in a 35% reduction in spray volume used compared to broadcast applications. Although many of these experiments are ongoing and require validation across multiple site years, it is exciting to answer these important questions to assist practitioners with the adoption of this new tool and develop application thresholds.

These early results are positive indicators of machine vision-guided spot sprayers’ ability to reduce herbicide usage, lowering turfgrass managers’ annual herbicide budget and decreasing environmental pesticide loads. Brooke’s goal is to provide turfgrass managers with the practical evidence they need to see how machine vision-guided spot spraying could impact their budget, flexibility, and long-term turfgrass sustainability.

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