PRF4: Mechanical robotic weeding

No substantive changes have been made to this action for SFI26 (compared with the SFI24 version). There have only been minor updates to standard wording which appears in all area-based SFI actions.

This action’s aim is that mechanical robotic weeding technology is used to control weeds, so there’s minimal use of herbicides.

The purpose of this is to:

• improve productivity, water and soil quality
• increase biodiversity
• support an integrated pest management approach

What you must do

You must control weeds on land entered into this action using a mechanical robotic weeder that:

• weeds between and within the rows of one crop
• has camera or GPS-guided hoes which physically remove the weeds from the ground

You must do this action on one crop from when it’s sown until it’s harvested.

For the purposes of this action, a crop includes:

• root crops
• field vegetables and salad crops
• soft fruit crops which do not occupy the land for 5 years or more and provide repeated harvests (also known as ‘permanent crops’)

You can choose which crop to do this action on, but it must be a ‘cash crop’. This means it’s a crop grown to be harvested for commercial use.

You can apply residual herbicides to the crop before the sown crop plants or weeds emerge (‘pre-emergence’). This can be at the same time the crop is established (drilled or planted) or within a few days of establishment.

‘Residual’ herbicides are long-lasting selective herbicides which control certain weed species without harming the crop.

You must not use any other herbicides on the crop from when it’s sown until it’s harvested.

When to do it

You must do this action on at least one crop that’s sown during each year of this action’s 3-year duration. You can harvest it in a subsequent year of this action’s duration if you sow the next crop for this action in the same year.

This means you must do this action on a crop that’s sown during:

• the first year of this action’s duration – you can harvest it in the second year of this action’s duration
• the second year of this action’s duration – you can harvest it in the third year of this action’s duration
• the third year of this action’s duration – you must do this action until you harvest that crop or this action’s end date, whichever is earlier

If you’re already growing a crop on the land entered into this action when this action starts, you must do this action on a crop that’s sown within 12 months of this action’s start date.

Where you can do it

You can do this action on agricultural land located below the moorland line that’s:

• an eligible land type (as defined in section 5.1.1 ‘Eligible land types’ in the SFI26 scheme information)
• registered with an eligible land cover on your digital maps
• declared with a land use code which is compatible with the eligible land cover

It will not usually be possible for you to do this action on combinable crops.

Rotational or static

This action is rotational or static. This means you can either:

• move its location for the second and third years of this action’s duration
• do it at the same location each year of this action’s duration

Evidence to keep

You must keep evidence to show what you’ve done to complete this action, such as:

• data from the tractor’s job recording system identifying the mechanical robotic weeder, the date and areas weeded
• field operations at a land parcel level, including the land parcel reference number and the dates the crop was sown and harvested
• contractor’s invoice if you use a contractor to do this action

If it’s not clear that you’ve done this action in a way that could reasonably be expected to achieve its aim, we may ask for this evidence. You must supply the evidence if we ask for it.