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Imprint
Weed control on railways by hot water (Gleis frei)
Project
Project code: JKI-A-08-1286, DBU AZ 34693
Contract period: 01.01.2021
- 31.12.2024
Purpose of research: Applied research
Rail-bound transport systems in Germany make a significant contribution to local public transport in cities and metropolitan areas. They are considered environmentally friendly and can be classified as highly efficient in terms of transport performance. In comparison to private transport, public transport also uses less space and energy. The strengthening and expansion of public passenger and freight transport is therefore desired socially and politically not only because of the current discussion about the consequences of climate change.
Track systems must be kept free of any growth for operational and traffic safety reasons. Plants affect the building structure due to their root growth and excretions and thus the required stability of the track body. The function of switches, supply lines and signal systems can also be considerably damaged by vegetation. Finally, heavy vegetation limits the view of the road and the edge area, so that traffic safety is no longer ensured.
At the present time, herbicides are mainly used nationwide for this purpose, especially the non-selective active ingredient glyphosate. As is well known, this active ingredient is subject to social criticism and is the subject of current scientific studies (e.g. with regard to influences on biodiversity and human toxicity). Attempts to find alternative methods of weed control have been made by many before, but with little visible success. In recent years there have been innovative technical developments that make thermal weed control processes more efficient and thus more efficient and environmentally friendly. This includes, for example, automatic plant detection and sensor technology for the targeted application of such processes.
However, herbicide-free methods for vegetation control are currently not available for rail tracks, so that the research and development requirements are currently extremely high. The requirements are extremely high due to the intensive frequency of certain track sections. The focus of the development planned here is therefore initially on track systems in urban areas and in shunting tracks at train stations, in ports and similar areas of freight transport.
Compared to the previous state of the art, the following measures are intended to achieve a significant improvement: (a) the automatic plant recognition reduces the target area to be treated, thereby saving energy. The area coverage increases accordingly; (b) the amount of heat or energy is brought to the plants in a controllable manner as required. As a result, higher efficiencies and control successes are achieved; (c) the methods hot water, hot foam and hot air are ideally combined with each other in a previously unknown construction. As a result, efficient applications are increasing significantly. The research and development activities of the project are accompanied by business and economic evaluations, and possible effects on fauna and humans are also areas of the project. They provide support for decision-makers, service providers and practical users of the process.
The aim of the planned project is to develop a device prototype for thermal vegetation control with hot water and hot foam on track ballast beds. The aim is to develop a market-ready, efficient device that can be used on inner-city and extra-urban rail lines.
Section overview
Subjects
- Crop Protection
- Agroecology
Framework programme
Funding programme
Excutive institution
Institute for Plant Protection in Field Crops and Grassland (JKI-A)
