Hand weeding without tools may arguably be
cheaper in some situations than hand weeding with tools, or mechanical hand weeding.
However, without the proper equipment, the worker will often tear off the top of
the weed and leave the roots in ground. Not only is this an arduous task
and damaging to the health of the worker, but it also may be less efficient when
compared with mechanical hand weeding, depending on the types of tools available
for this purpose. In other words, when using the most appropriate
ergonomic tools for the situation at hand, the grower can efficiently "Wipe out the weeds, not the
workers!" If children are employed in hand weeding, refer to
the North
American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks for care in
preventing injury to children. You can also select safety guidelines by
age groups.
Some of these guidelines make a lot of
sense for adults in some situations, as well. According to the American
Society of Hand Therapists, repetitive movements such as raking,
weeding, digging and pruning are stressful on hand and wrist ligaments and can
cause tendonitis and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome.
The selection of the most
appropriate tools may depend on the types of crops, types of weeds, soil
conditions, sizes of weeds, quantities of weeds, weather conditions, costs, and,
of course, especially in California, laws and regulations.
In California, the traditional use of the
short hoe is not currently a legal option. Weeding by hand is restricted
in agriculture to situations where it can be proven to be necessary.
Organic farmers do not have the same restrictions that other farmers have in the
new regulations.
The logic behind this variation is based not on ergonomics, but on the economic
requirement for extensive hand weeding for organic farming to be productive. As stated above, whether
required or restricted by law or not, tools that are more efficient than hand weeding or the short
hoe will be of value to all farmers that require precision weeding or thinning assuming they have an opportunity to
evaluate and select the best tools for the job at hand. Many of the
conditions that have traditionally called for hand weeding can be efficiently
overcome by the Weed Twister as will be described below.
CIRCLE HOES AND THE WEED TWISTER
To analyze the benefits of the circle hoe,
we examine it's features here in a generic sense. This design is a
band of thin metal shaped like a wedding band with a diameter of several inches
and a band width of less than an inch. The example shown below has a
diameter of about 3 inches, one inch greater than that of the Weed Twister
coils.
The circle hoe circular
band is supported by a pivoting structure or rigid clamp attached to a
full-length handle. Depending on the dimensions of the circle diameter,
various levels of precision can be provided by this type of tool.
Like other hoes, the circle hoe is
relatively effective in tilling the soil and unearthing unwanted seedlings and
small weeds with shallow roots. When this tool encounters deeper roots, it
may cut the roots or, depending on the size and strength of the root fibers, may
simply get stuck or stopped by the roots. If there is a need to remove
weeds with roots intact that are deeper than a few inches, the circle hoe will
not be effective. The standard flat-blade hoe will be more effective in
this case than the circle hoe, but unless careful hacking motions are applied to
dig along side the roots, the flat edge hoe will not be effective in removing
deep roots.
The Weed Twister coils have a circular
shape that when scraped along the top of the soil can fairly efficiently slip
underneath small seedlings with shallow roots much like the action of a precise
circle hoe. The sharpened tips of the Weed Twister coils enable it to cut
into the shallow soil like the edge of the circle hoe or straight hoe.
Although the Weed Twister doesn't pivot, its coil design allows the worker
to push or pull in any direction, horizontally or vertically, from just about
any angle, including sitting in a
wheelchair. A 3-D
shuffle hoe solution!
More power and control when pushing and pulling is provided by the vinyl T-Handle
grip of
the Weed Twister compared with the plain pole of a hoe. The coil's strong 1/4-inch spring-quality wire will not fail when
pushing, pulling, twisting or prying, within the capacity of human strength.
When a larger weed is encountered, the Weed Twister can be applied in
either a twisting or hooking motion to safely dig into the deeper root
system. In an agricultural setting where the soil is generally
well-cultivated, a hooking motion may be sufficient to remove many
larger weeds without the need for twisting. Twisting is very
effective in removing larger weeds, moreso than any other method, but
requires work, and should be used only as a last resort. More
discussion on the various techniques of hoeing, hooking and twisting
with the Weed Twister will follow.
There are a number of innovative precise
hoe blade design variations that are listed on the Weeder Features page and elsewhere for
comparison. One common issue with all of these designs is that they
have a relatively sharp edge which will very likely cut the roots of a large
weed if applied carelessly. Like the traditional hoe and the circle hoe,
the various blade designs are intended to till and cultivate the soil and remove
small weeds with shallow roots. None are intended to effectively remove
the root systems of larger weeds.
If a grower needs to precisely remove
small weeds, there may be a value in examining several of those we list on this
website including the wing-shaped blades, V-shaped blades, double V-shaped
blades, heart-shaped hoe, scuffle hoe with serrated edges, and
half-moon shaped blades. The hula hoe is shaped like a rectangular
circle hoe and is similar to the scuffle hoe with a pivoting action.
This hoe has been used in some horticultural settings with efficient outcomes as
long as the weed growth is limited to short roots. Many of these tools will not be found in your
local hardware store, so the list on this website may be a good starting point
for research on alternative hoe designs. A variety of these hoes and other
hand tools, mostly available online are identified on the
Garden Tools page.
When precision weeding is required, the
ultimate solution may be to arm the workers with both a precise hoe, like the
hula hoe, and the Weed Twister. The hula hoe can cover a larger span of
short-rooted weeds, and the Weed Twister can be pulled out of its holster when
more precision is needed or when the roots run deeper than 3-4 inches.
Several traditional weeders have fairly
straight prongs, some with curves and grooves, and others with short and long
handles. Prongs are the generic weeders of the past. Long handled
prongs have back-saving advantages over short-handled prongs. Prongs are
more effective than hoes in penetrating deeply into the soil to attack larger
root systems. The longer the handle, the more leverage can be applied to
extract larger plants.
To be effective, the prong has to be
accurately guided into the base of the root system in order to loosen the roots
from the earth with as few strokes as possible. Often the worker will grab
the top of a plant with one hand and poke the prong into the roots with the
other. This two-handed process cannot be easily coordinated with a long handle
prong. Therefore, the ergonomics of this tool is compromised. Only
if the plant is several feet tall will the worker be able to grab the top of the
plant with one hand and stick a long prong into the roots at the same time with
the other hand. Grabbing the top end of a large plant may result in
breaking the plant if the prong has not fully loosened the root.
The Weed Twister may require a little more
effort than the prong to penetrate a depth of several inches.
Although it doesn't take any more strength, the Weed Twister requires a twisting
action as opposed to the straight pushing or poking action of the prong.
Once the tool reaches the root system, however, the Weed Twister has advantages
not enjoyed by the prong.
The twisting motion of the Weed Twister will
engage the root system and twist the entire root while still in the soil.
The apex of the double coils is carefully designed to grab the root structure
that has already been loosened by the coils and force it to dance the Weed Twister
Waltz. Once embraced, the roots will completely disengage from the soil after one or two twists.
The
Weed Twister Waltz lifts the weed off her feet! Once she begins to
spin, it is safe to gently lift her out of the soil with very little effort.
A graceful exit from stage left!
In contrast, once the prong reaches
the main root system, it can only move laterally like a lever. Oftentimes
it will simply slip off the main root stem with very little impact. It may
take several thrusts and pushing efforts with the prong to loosen the roots from the soil and
ultimately it still requires one or two hands to extract the weed from the soil.
Both tools have the problem of
occasionally missing a central point in the root system that allows for
effective removal. The straight tap root is more difficult to hit by
either tool, especially when it angles off in a direction that is not clearly
predictable by the visible growth. The 2-inch diameter of the Weed Twister
coils gives the Weed Twister a slight advantage in hitting target the first time
over the prong with a 1-inch or smaller diameter.
The more branches and networks in the
roots, the more easy it is for the Weed Twister to snatch the roots and twist them
into orbit. This advantage is not enjoyed by the prong. The Weed
Twister is more effective in grabbing and loosening both the tap root and the
branched root than the prong. There is no competition in this regard by prongs, hoes or
other shapes.
The twisting design of the Weed
Twister is the most effective and efficient design in attacking grass-type
root networks and branched roots, as well as deep taproots, than any other mechanical tools that we have seen to date.
OTHER WEED TWISTERS VS THE ERGONICA WEED
TWISTER
There are two other manufacturers that we
know of that distribute a product called a "weed twister." There have also been
several other products that feature a twisting motion for cultivation but not
necessarily weeding. The twisting concept in weeding and cultivating
seems to have caught on in the consumer market!
One competing weed twister is made by
Hastings. This tool has four straight tines in a parallel array. The tines
have a length of about 4 inches and are arranged like a square when observed
from the pointed ends. Although this tool is nominally designed for
twisting, the tool does not have the coil shape of the Ergonica Weed Twister to
allow for efficient penetration and twisting into the soil. We have also
recently observed that the Hasting website is not functional at this time, which
may mean that the tool is no longer available.
The Rittenhouse weed twister is a prong
with a wedge-shaped blade oriented like half an arrowhead. The handle
includes a protrusion for foot support. The operation of this tool
involves poking the arrowhead into the roots of a weed like a dandelion and
pushing the protrusion with one foot. After penetrating the soil, the user
twists the long handle and lifts the tool. The problems with this design
are twofold. One, using the foot can cause more fatigue and stress than
the hands-only methods of the Ergonica Weed Twister and most other tools. Two, the half-arrowhead design
is not one that will effectively or efficiently twist and engage the roots.
The coils of the Ergonica Weed Twister allow it to penetrate more deeply into
the soil than the Rittenhouse tool. The coils allow for more efficient
twisting without the friction caused by the Rittenhouse half-arrowhead.
More weed twisters of various names and designs are compared at the Weeder Features site.
We have noted a few interesting
alternatives but none that we believe may be of value to this discussion in the
agricultural setting. For example, one tool has several nail-like tines
that are intended to surround a dandelion plant and grab the entire plant when a
foot lever is pressed. This is a rather heavy and clumsy tool and can only
be applied to weeds with short roots of no more than three or four inches.
Another extreme is a super-large wrench
device that can effectively remove fairly large plants as tall as several feet.
For the agricultural scenarios in California, this size of weeds is not
anticipated.
There is also a motorized twisting tool
shaped like an extended paint-mixing prong. This design has some potential
advantages, but the disadvantages appear to be out of balance. In addition
to the weight and cost of a separate drill-type motor tool, once the weed is
removed by the tool, the weed is usually wrapped extensively around the prong,
requiring a lot of work to unwind the weed. If the prong does not hit
target, the result will often be a broken plant stem. This tool may
potentially work better when combined with a motorized rotating accessory that
is specifically designed for this purpose. This accessory would feature a
slower speed than most power drills allow and an easy way to reverse the
direction to unwind the entangled weeds. We would encourage inventors and
manufacturers to continue working on the development of a motorized twisting
tool. The Turbo Weed Twister Aurger is drill powered and allows you to
not only pull out large plants or grassy weeds rapidly, but also to quickly
lift them and dispose of them by reversing the drill direction.
HERBICIDES AND REGISTRATION
The Weed Twister does not require
registration for any crop as needed for dangerous herbicides such as
ethofumesate, prometryn, ethalfluralin, edothall, Stinger, metribuzin, Casoron,
Flex, flumetsulam, Kerb or Visor, to name a few. Safety and vigorous
growth for all crops, workers and the ecology is protected and enhanced by the
Weed Twister, beyond the capability of any chemical to date as well as many
other mechanical applications. Register the label for the Weed Twister as
"safe and healthy" for all crops including carrots, onions, celery,
strawberries, grapes or peppers as well as yourself, your family, workers, pets,
bugs and worms. In the era of sustainable agriculture, the question is: Are
there new methods and tools suitable for sustainable agriculture?".
Many innovative and suitable solutions today have not been evaluated or tested
appropriately by large corporations, traditional experts, farm advisors and
master gardeners. Forward-looking growers may find it profitable to
take part in testing new tools, such as the Weed Twister, along with other
biodynamic and permaculture methods.
ERGONICA WEED TWISTER TECHNIQUES FOR
AGRICULTURE
Several techniques and options for using
the Ergonica Weed Twister are more appropriate for agriculture than for home
consumer use. An exhaustive list of home consumer techniques and
applications can be seen
on the Weed Twister website.
For agriculture, an efficient, ergonomic set of techniques is necessary.
These techniques are based on the premise that the agricultural worker may be
called upon to remove weeds for several hours in one day. An
ergonomic design becomes more critical when fatigue and repetitive motion are
anticipated. Not only can the Weed Twister be applied to open
furrows, but it is also effective in nursery containers of various sizes due to
the Weed Twister's exceptional precision. For using the Weed Twister to
remove lawn weeds and a variety of other domestic applications, please review
the Turbo Weed Twister
Instructions site.
Hoeing, Hooking and Twisting
The new worker should be given a thorough
orientation on how to safely and efficiently hoe, hook and twist with the Weed Twister. This
orientation will
greatly increase efficiency and reduce strain and effort for the worker.
In the game of poker you have to know when to hold them or fold them.
When using the versatile Weed Twister, you have to know when it's best to hoe,
hook or twist, depending on the weed type, size and shape as well as soil
conditions. Much of this judgment process can only come from the worker's
experience with specific crops and specific weeds and soil conditions.
Because of this judgment process, there will very likely be a number of workers
who enjoy superior performance than other workers. These Expert Weed
Twisters may become the trainers to orient new users of this tool.
Hoeing with the Weed Twister has been presented in previous tool comparisons. The decision to hoe with the Weed Twister
is based on the identification of small weeds with shallow roots. Another
factor will be the condition of the soil. Soil that is more compacted may
not lend itself to hoeing by the Weed Twister. In most cases, however,
small growths of new weeds with roots as deep as 2-4 inches or so can be easily and precisely
unearthed by sliding the Weed Twister in a pulling (not twisting) motion much
like the application of a traditional flat-edged hoe. When small
weeds are growing in tight areas between furrows, for example, the circular edge
of the Weed Twister can be safely extended to unearth these intruders. For
larger areas where precision is not as critical, other less precise hoes may be used to cover
more ground with less effort. Small weeds with no flowers or seeds can
safely and efficiently be unearthed in this manner with no concern about
removing the debris from the ground.
Hooking is appropriate for slightly larger
weeds with larger root systems. Whereas hoeing involves a pulling motion
towards the worker, hooking involves sliding the tool sideways from right to
left to take advantage of the clockwise spiral of the coils. Hooking is more of a jabbing and grabbing
motion in soil depths of about 3-6 inches. When you look at the coils of
the Weed Twister from different angles you can see a circle, a hook or a spiral
shape. Likewise, the effective action of the tool can change when applying
it from different angles and with different motions. This is where
training and experience come into play. Some users immediately "see" the
engineering and geometric potential of the Weed Twister at a glance. It's
like love at first sight! Others require more training and practice.
The skill in hooking is knowing when it's appropriate and how to orient and move
the tool towards the target. When the soil is relatively loose, it's
fairly easy to push the coils as a hook beneath the main root system and pull
out the entire plant with very little, if any, twisting. Hooking is also
an effective method to remove larger weeds in nursery containers depending on
the size of the container and proximity to the crop plants. The 2-inch
precision is ideal for protecting valuable plants in containers. In larger
containers, the hoeing method may also be effective.
Twisting is the classic motion reserved
for larger weeds and deeper roots. These are plants with roots that need
to be fully engaged in the coils in order to be twisted and detached from the
soil. Twisting is the most efficient method for loosening larger root
structures from the soil without rupturing the central core of the roots.
Other tool designs require either digging a large hole or carefully poking prods
into the roots in a hit-or-miss fashion to eventually free the root structure
from the soil.
Once the root filaments have been loosened from the surrounding soil, the entire
plant will begin to rotate more freely along with the Weed Twister shaft.
The Weed Twister Waltz, as described above, is an efficient and graceful method
of lifting the weed off the ground. The
user will feel a reduction in resistance against the twisting motion when the
weed is ready for lift off. At
this point, it is safe to simply lift the tool and the entire root system and
plant will follow.
Twisting requires less lateral space than
either hoeing or hooking and therefore can be applied safely to horticultural
containers or narrow spaces where weed roots have grown to greater depths.
Even when weeds are immediately next to the crop growth, or intermixed, the
twisting method can safely be applied. Since no soil is thrown into the
air with the twisting motion, in contrast to the traditional blade hoeing
motion, there is little danger of accidentally dusting the crop with soil.
Twisting can also safely be applied underneath grape vines and other large
plants, vines, trees and cacti on plains and hillsides because of its
precision and because no rapid hacking is used as with the motion of the
traditional hoe. In many cases, twisting can safely be applied underneath
plastic mulch, covers and netting by using the coils to partially lift the
covers and reach directly into the weeds.
Twisting is also the most effective method
for removing branched root systems such as those of grasses, like St. Augustine
grass, for example, and other plants with networked roots. The
coils can be used to look or 'fish' for unseen roots by twisting and hoeing into
suspect areas where visible weeds have been removed. Once found,
these roots can be snared and removed by the twisting motion. Even if some
root parts remain, by periodically twisting and hoeing in the same area the
weeds will ultimately be completely removed.
Removing the Plug and Debris - Tapping
Twisting or hooking normally results in
the deposit of a plug of soil in the center of the Weed Twister coil along with
the entire plant that was removed. In home gardens, the gardener will tap the
coil on a nearby container in which the plug and plant will fall. If a rock, tree trunk, tool handle, or other hard surface
is nearby, tapping the coil against the hard object will cause the plug to loosen and
the rest of the debris will usually fall off by gravity or gentle pulling.
In an agricultural setting where hard surfaces are generally not found, just tapping
on the soil will generally clear the coils and leave the debris on the ground.
A better practice would be to lay a strip of canvas on the ground as a tapping
object in order to collect the debris and minimize seed distribution.
If a standard hoe or other tool is nearby, however, the wooden or metal
handle of the tool will make an excellent tapping object.
Hand
Weeding Tools Effectiveness by Features, Root Types and California Regulations
Weeding Tool / Process
Weeder Features
Root Type Extraction Effectiveness
California Agricultural Regs Approval
Precise Weeding
Precision
Ergonomics
Shallow
Deep
Networked
Organic
Regular
Intermittent
Hand Weeding No Tool
High
Poor
Poor
OK
Poor
Yes
Restricted*
Yes
Traditional Long-handle Hoe
Very Poor
OK
Good
Poor
Poor
Yes
Yes
Yes
Traditional Short-handle Hoe
Poor
Poor
Good
Poor
Poor
No
No
No
Precision-width Long-handle Hoe
Good
OK
Good
Poor
Poor
Yes
Yes
Yes
Precision-width Short-handle Hoe
Good
Poor
Good
Poor
Poor
No
No
No
Long-handle Prong
Very High
Poor
Poor
Good
Poor
Yes
Yes
Yes
Short-handle Prong
Very High
Poor
Poor
Good
Poor
No
No
No
60 Inch Weed Twister
Very High
Excellent
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Yes
Yes
Yes
54 Inch Dual Grip Weed Twister
Very High
Excellent
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Yes
Yes
Yes
48 Inch Industrial Weed Twister
Very High
Excellent
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Yes
Yes
Yes
42 Inch Industrial Weed Twister
Very High
Very Good
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Yes
No
Yes
36 Inch Consumer Weed Twister
Very High
Good
Good
Excellent
Excellent
Yes
No
Yes
* Hand weeding is allowed when
there is no readily available or no reasonable alternative means of performing
the work that is suitable and appropriate. Note: The evaluative terms in this chart are descriptive and judgmental and are
not presented as standard terms. The author's evaluations are explained in
the preceding text.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
The U.S. Patent and
Trademark Office eliminated the category of weeders in their classification
system years
ago. But that didn't discourage many creative inventors
from coming up with new weeder gadgets and occasionally
acquiring patents, such as the Weed Twister (Patent No.
5,441,118), to the benefit of the increasing number of
gardening enthusiasts and farmers. (To view images of patents on the
USPTO website, the Netscape Navigator browser may be necessary.) With the advent of alternative hand weeders in agriculture,
there may be a renewed interest in developing new products of this type.
The laser weeder or the robo weeder may not be that far off in the future.
Preliminary designs may already be on the drawing boards. Ergonica has
already developed the motorized drill-powered version of the Weed Twister as was claimed in the
original Weed Twister patent.
In the meantime, the developers of the
Ergonica Weed Twister intend to support the study of hand tool alternatives to
hand weeding, the short hoe and herbicides in California agriculture. Continued testing will add
valuable insight regarding the specifications for ergonomic tools and the best
ways to apply technologies and tools that are currently available.
Testing should be conducted on many different crops and weeds and various soil
conditions for results that are more useful to the majority of growers in
California.
California led the nation with 9 of the 10 top
counties for value of sales. Fresno County was number one in the United States with
nearly $5 billion in sales in 2012, which is greater than that of 23 states. Weld County,
Colorado ranked 9th in the top 10 U.S. counties. The top 5 states for agricultural sales
were California ($42.6 billion); Iowa ($30.8 billion); Texas ($25.4 billion); Nebraska
($23.1 billion); and Minnesota ($21.3 billion) based on
USDA Census Reports.
For a more objective scientific analysis,
the UC Cooperative Extension will continue to play a very
important role in coordinating these studies and recording their results.
Growers have stated that costs of hand weeding can extend to as much as $1,500
an acre. Scientific studies and a cost-benefit analysis are needed to show whether mechanical hand
weeding aided by some of the tools identified in this article and other
alternatives can significantly
lower these costs. Any significant reduction could result in savings
of perhaps millions of dollars to agribusiness in this state. Interested parties
should contact the UC Cooperative Extension representatives in your area.
To find out about upcoming hearings on the emergency regulations visit the
Cal OSHSB
(Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board) website. You may also
contact Ray Cruz, the inventor of the Weed Twister and
author of this paper, at ray.cruz[AT]ergonica.com, for more information about
upcoming tests involving the Weed Twister.
On January 27, 2005, OSHSB released the
latest revisions of the Hand Weeding
Regulations. These revisions do not significantly alter the
emergency regulations previously released.
See the Ergonica Press Release page for the latest Ergonica updates.
