Cutting weeds with a CO₂ laser

Stems of Chenopodium album. and Sinapis arvensis. and leaves of Lolium perenne. were cut with a CO2 laser or with a pair of scissors. Treatments were carried out on greenhouse-grown pot plants at three different growth stages and at two heights. Plant dry matter was measured 2 to 5 weeks after treatment. The relationship between dry weight and laser energy was analysed using a non-linear dose-response regression model. The regression parameters differed significantly between the weed species. At all growth stages and heights S. arvensis was more difficult to cut with a CO2 laser than C. album. When stems were cut below the meristems, 0.9 and 2.3 J mm(-1) of CO2 laser energy dose was sufficient to reduce by 90% the biomass of C. album and S. arvensis respectively. Regrowth appeared when dicotyledonous plant stems were cut above meristems, indicating that it is important to cut close to the soil surface to obtain a significant effect. When cutting L. perenne plants with 2-true leaves at a height of 2 cm from the soil surface with a laser, the biomass decreased significantly compared with plants cut by scissors, indicating a delay in regrowth. This delay was not observed for the dicotyledonous plants nor for the other growth stages of L. perenne.