RootWave showcases new machine at demo events

/in , /by

RootWave has held a series of successful demonstration events for its first tractor-powered eWeeding machine for orchards, vineyards and fruit.

The RootWave machine treats weeds in the rows of vines, orchards and bushes using treatment electrodes on purpose-designed hydraulic arms allowing the machine to work seamlessly between different crops and row widths. The treatment uses higher-frequency waveform electricity, which creates heat energy within the weed and roots boiling them from the inside out.

Growers and industry stakeholders attended a series of demonstration events in Kent and Herefordshire to see first-hand the machine working in commercial crops. RootWave CEO Andrew Diprose said: “It has been wonderful to meet so many growers and understand their weed control challenges, it is clear the new RootWave eWeeder will be an important tool in the management of weeds in fruit crops. The benefits of eWeeding are many and without the use restrictions typically associated with herbicides our machine will provide growers with unmatched flexibility in application timing and exceptional weed control throughout the year!’’

“Our technology is certified organic and it helps nature to restore its soils and water, we are certain eWeeding will become the indispensable tool for farmers that want effective weed control, but without the negative effects to the environment”.

Lower energy use

In the company’s own tests eWeeding provided full control of weeds at a lower total energy use than chemical herbicides.

Mr Diprose said: “RootWave delivers the most effective, economical, environmentally friendly and safe weed control on the market. It works so well because the plant and roots are killed by heat generated within the weed itself and the number of applications needed in a season is comparable to that of herbicides and less than required for mechanical weeding”.

“We are the only eWeeding provider using high-frequency electricity, which is known to be intrinsically safer than standard 50Hz or DC wave forms.”

The company plan to deliver the first machines to UK customers starting Q1, 2024, and anyone wanting to adopt eWeeding in 2024 are encouraged to reserve a machine now.

Mr Diprose added: “it is clear growers want a better solution for managing weeds and as a result they have been eager to reserve a machine, we only have a handful still available for delivery in 2024”.

See more about our tractor-powered eWeeder here.

RootWave announce dates of eWeeding demonstration days

/in , /by

RootWave’s new tractor-powered eWeeder will be in action at a series of special events for growers and agronomists during the summer.

Request an invitation

The events will be held in commercial orchards and vineyards in Kent and Herefordshire in August. They will present a chance for growers and agronomists to see the eWeeder in action, and see trial plots previously treated with RootWave’s tractor-powered eWeeder. The dates are and locations are:

  • 1st August – Orchard, Gravesend, Kent – 4pm – 6.30pm
  • 2nd August – Vineyard, Maidstone, Kent – 4pm – 6.30pm
  • 9th August – Orchard, Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire – 4pm – 6.30pm
  • 16th August – Orchard & vineyard, Faversham, Kent – 3pm – 5.30pm

Places are limited and by invitation-only. To request an invitation to one of the events, please fill out the form below.

Request an invitation

Please use the link above if possible, if not you can fill in the form below and email to: jimmy.phillips@rootwave.com

RootWave-eWeeding-Demo-Events-booking-form-blankDownload

RootWave’s Chisom Akujobi wins Top 50 Women in Engineering award!

/in /by

At RootWave we have a talented and diverse team, and we are immensely proud that our colleague Chisom Akujobi has been named winner of the Women’s Engineering Society’s (WES) Top 50 Women in Engineering for 2023

Chisom was nominated for her work as a Power Electronics Engineer developing RootWave’s patented high frequency electrical weed control technology for agricultural applications.

Chisom, who joined RootWave in November 2021, said: “I am so pleased to be recognised for this incredible award. My special thanks go to the team at RootWave for creating an amazing work environment which encourages people to achieve heights both in their career and on personal levels.”

Make safety seen

The 2023 Top 50 Women in Engineering Awards celebrate the women engineers who are engaged in safety and security and who #MakeSafetySeen. RootWave’s patents relate to safety, as its high frequency waveforms are intrinsically safer than others used in the field.

Chisom has played a key role in applying this technology to new products and markets. In an interview for RootWave’s newsletter last year she spoke about her pride in working for a game-changing company, and the positive support she’s received from her team mates.

RootWave has a diverse team, with engineers from many different backgrounds. When commenting on her award, Chisom was keen to recognise her female colleagues within the company.

She said: “I would love to give a special shout out to my fellow women at RootWave; Laura Wrench , our Head of people; Paula Daley-Allan our Finance Manager; Stefanie Murray our Project Engineer; Colette Baker our Senior Software Engineer; Rashmitha Nair, our Software Engineer, Mariam Roy; our Embedded software test Engineer and Susan Ademusire, Supply and Logistics, who are doing the best work to create chemical-free weed control products that are safe for humans, the environment and animals.” More information is about WES is available at inwed.org.uk/, and more information about RootWave’s projects at rootwave.com/products

Some of RootWave’s women engineers (l to r) Mariam Roy, Colette Baker, Susan Ademusire, and Chisom Akujobi

Record breaking revenue quarter for RootWave

/in , /by

The award-winning electrical hand-weeder RootWave Pro generated record sales revenue during Q2 2023.

Driven predominantly by sales in the UK, Germany, and France, the product has now sold over 150 units since it was launched.

RootWave established a distributor in France in 2022, and shipped 10 eWeeders to a single customer during its first months of operation. However the current quarter has outstripped previous records, as sales to private companies and local authorities in the UK aligned with continued interest within the EU.

RootWave Pro has been most popular in countries where glyphosate is restricted, for example Netherlands where there are over 60 units in operation. Customers there are very happy with the performance of the product.

With a decision looming on the horizon regarding the future of glyphosate within Europe, it is likely that sales will continue to be strong across the continent.

Global Head of Sales Stephen Jelley said: “Glyphosate is coming under continual regulatory and legal pressure. In some EU countries it is already banned in public spaces, and in the UK we’re seeing a clear user-led desire to reduce its use.

“There are some weed control scenarios, for example tough invasive species like Japanese Knotweed, where people are finding RootWave’s ability to treat the plant above the ground AND the roots below it very valuable.”

In the UK, customers include Transport for London, English Heritage and several local authorities.

For more information on RootWave Pro click here.

UK Electrical weed control firm RootWave to open crowdfunding 

/in , /by

Warwickshire based electrical weed control (eWeeding) pioneer RootWave is set to launch its first eWeeder within agriculture via private investment complemented by crowdfunding. 

The company’s first tractor-powered machine for orchards and vineyards will be launched next year, with half the machines planned for production already reserved.

eWeeding kills weed and root, providing the systemic control that, prior to now, only herbicides could provide. The company reported that in trials last year – RootWave outperformed herbicides in every scenario, whilst using less energy. 

CEO Andrew Diprose said: “RootWave’s electrical weed control products will prevent the use of 30,000,000,000 litres of herbicide by 2035, as well as 1,500,000 tonnes of plastic, 22,000,000 GJ of energy and allow farmers to sequester 20,000,000 tonnes of carbon. 

“And the really exciting part for farmers, is how well it works. eWeeding is the only non-chemical method that kills weed and root without disturbing the soil. Furthermore, with far lower energy use than chemical herbicide programmes, when utilised at scale RootWave will be a more cost-effective option too.” 

Products in multiple markets

The company has already launched the award winning handheld eWeeder RootWave Pro and the product has generated over £2m in revenue to date. The company says that Q2 2023 is set to be a record sales quarter for the product. 

Following the launch of the eWeeder for orchards and vineyards which uses the company’s patented higher frequency waveform technology, RootWave has its sights firmly set on arable row-crops, a $68bn market in Europe and North America alone.  

Mr. Diprose added: “Trial data in row-crops was exceptional, outperforming herbicides in every metric. RootWave provides an exciting option for those who want to see our food produced with fewer chemical inputs, and for farmers who want systemic control of weeds with expanded treatment windows and without worrying about the regulatory or resistance issues associated with chemical herbicides. 

“By opening crowdfunding, both these groups can help accelerate our growth, while taking a stake in our future success – it is an exciting proposition.”  Crowdfunding is set to open in July, with early access available for interested parties via Crowdcube and more information here.

More about investing in RootWave

Independent study explains why RootWave technology is the safest electrical weed control

/in /by

A study has shown that RootWave’s patented 18 kHz electrical weed control is safer than 50Hz or DC devices, by orders of magnitude.

In 1891, Jacques-Arsene d’Arsonval found that using high frequency alternating electric current significantly reduced the likelihood of serious injury from electric shock.

The study on RootWave’s technology built on this and undertook extensive literature searches, modelling, and analysis to assess the severity of injuries a person could sustain from electric current. The conclusions are consistent with d’Arsonval, and show that ‘operating electrical weed control devices at around 20 kHz is much safer than operating lower frequency devices (including DC)’.

RootWave’s patented higher-frequency eWeeder is 10,000 times less likely to cause cardiac arrest than a device using standard 50Hz AC in the event of accidental contact with an electrode. For DC devices, RootWave is 2,500 times less likely.

The design of the product is intended to minimise the risk of someone coming into contact with live eWeeding electrodes, but this study gives assurance that RootWave high frequency technology is significantly less harmful should that unlikely scenario occur.

Safe use of electricity

The study, completed in 2022 by professors who work for AMC Consulting and Imperial College, London found that operating at around 20 kHz gives ‘substantially greater opportunity to increase the power levels of the equipment without causing ventricular fibrillation (arrythmia of the heart/cardiac arrest), should a person come into direct contact with the electrodes.’ Concluding ‘It is thus advisable to operate weed control devices in the region of 20 kHz.’

Graph: The Y axis shows electrical power, the X axis shows frequency (log. scale) with green (low) and red (high) denoting the risk of ventricular fibrillation (cardiac arrest). This shows RootWave can operate at high powers with relatively low risk. [each listing reffers to full exposure to a single eWeeding module]

Frequency, in electrical terms, is simply how many times the current oscillates from positive to negative per second. Standard 50Hz electricity oscillates 50 times per second, at 18kHz it is 18,000 times. Direct Current (DC) has no oscillation.

International patents

RootWave has patented this technology in all major markets.

Founder and Head of Research Robert Diprose says: “Our technology is cutting edge. Fundamentally the concept of driving electricity around a circuit that includes the weed the ground and then the return is relatively simple.

“However, we do things differently, we use waveforms that are intrinsically safer, we use control systems that allow us to manage every joule of energy that flows through the system in real time, then we put wrap around safety protocols on our systems to ensure that accidental injury is unlikely to occur.”

The study is helpful in explaining why RootWave’s patented waveforms are safer. Initial results from trials with RootWave’s tractor-powered eWeeding machine in sugar beet, maize and apple crops also show that the technology can provide full control of a range of weeds.

Better weed control arrives for orchards, vineyards and fruit

/in , /by

Independent trials of our tractor-powered eWeeder in orchards, show that RootWave delivers full control of weeds.

Read more

EU to further increase pesticide reduction targets, but it could be the weeds that are in for a shock

/in , /by

The European Union has set a goal to reduce the use and risk of hazardous pesticides by 50% by 2030. However, a leaked draft report from the European Parliament shows that the Member leading the revision of the EU’s pesticide framework is pushing for more ambition, advocating for an 80% reduction in the use of more hazardous plant protection products by 2030. This goal is in line with the demands of the citizens’ initiative, ‘Save bees and farmers’, which called for a general reduction of synthetic plant protection products by 80%.

In recent years farmers have had worries about their ‘toolbox shrinking’, but fortunately, there is a solution that can help farmers meet this target: electric weed control (eWeeding).

eWeeding kills all weeds, delivering full control in independent trials. Moreover, electricity treats deep into the roots, and does not disturb the soil or seed bed, helping to reduce new weed growth, and create healthy soils to capture carbon.

Furthermore, while weeds might develop resistance to chemical herbicides, this is not the case with eWeeding.

This method is not only effective, but also safe for earthworms and other soil macrofauna, and can be used near water courses and in environmentally sensitive areas.

In addition, eWeeding can be lower cost than using chemical herbicides on a per hectare, per season basis.

RootWave will release its first tractor-powered eWeeding machine in 2024 for use in orchards and vineyards, with products for arable row crops expected from 2026.

If the EU are to take bold steps towards protecting ecosystems by increasing their pesticide reduction goals – in the case of weed control at least, farmers may actually be heading for a better future than they imagined.

In numbers – the squeeze on herbicides:

  • In the EU, chemical herbicides that account for 82% of the herbicide value in  fruit crops are being revoked or are at significant risk of being revoked. (33% for cereal crops, 87% for broad-acre row-crops, 94% for vegetables, and 98% in municipalities).
  • There is herbicide resistance with 68% of the current modes of action. No new herbicide mode of action has been discovered in the past 20 years.
  • In fruit crops, glyphosate accounts for 76% of the herbicides used.  88% of academic studies since 2016 conclude glyphosate is carcinogenic.  In the EU, its license was extended by one year until end-2023 whilst the authorities reassess its safety.  Glyphosate was recently withdrawn for US Consumers due to safety concerns and litigation costs.  There are currently 533 legal cases against herbicide manufacturers relating to safety.
  • EU Green Deal looking to halve the use of pesticides, including herbicides, by 2030 and COP15 committed to halving the risk from pesticides by 2030.
  • There is a 11% CAGR in organic retail sales and 8% in organic farmland with EU committed to increasing organic farmland to 25% by 2030.

For more information on RootWave eWeeders, click here.

View from the Chair: “There is real opportunity for RootWave”
/in /by

Dr Andy Jones joined the RootWave board as Chairman in April, bringing with him over 35 years’ experience in agriculture, and the AgriChem industry. In this article he reflects on his first year, and the size of the opportunity for RootWave in an industry he knows so well.

I have a very high-level of confidence that RootWave will become one of the leading brands in weed control. One of the reasons for that is because the technology works brilliantly. I joined RootWave as chair of the board in spring 2022 – at that point I was really impressed with the level of technical validation already achieved.

Since then we have had the field trials in maize, sugar beet and orchards and I think everyone at RootWave and growers have been very excited by the results. I am certainly excited by what we can achieve.

I have been in crop protection virtually my whole career, and I know there is a need for the solution that RootWave is delivering. Food supply and demand in the world is finely balanced – just look at how the war in Ukraine has sent shockwaves in food prices. The job of chemicals in crop protection has been to help growers produce food for a growing and hungry population, and they have done it very well. 

But, as science and technology has advanced, we understand the impact some of the chemical products can have on the environment and on human health.  We need crop protection technologies with lower environmental impact and risks.  RootWave is exactly that – a safe and cost effective way to control weeds.

I have been impressed with the team RootWave has in place to take advantage of this opportunity.  There is a lot of energy and a lot of drive within the team, and also a lot of knowledge and expertise. The team here understand the technology and how it can be applied to various markets, whether that is fruit, row crops or other areas of agriculture.

I think farmers will look at what RootWave has to offer and say – “this is fantastic”! That might look different in different sectors, for example for those in the organic market, where they are currently relying on mechanical hoeing, which disturbs and damages the soil – I think growers will be very excited. But it doesn’t end there, we know more and more growers are operating in an environment where the use of chemicals is restricted. That could be for regulatory reasons, or due to preferences within their supply chain – what our trials have shown us is that eWeeding can work better, and with the right utilisation level can cost way less.

With the right partners and the drive and energy we have in the team we can demonstrate to the market that eWeeding works, and actually it can also cost farmers less in the long run.

I think it is an exciting time ahead, and one that can be very rewarding for our team, partners and investors.

RootWave and IPM

/in , /by

RootWave can help nature restore soils, water and biodiversity by reducing the amount of chemicals in a farming system, and for fruit growers there are further benefits. Non-chemical practices such as mechanical weeding can negatively impact beneficials like earwigs (Dermaptera), a natural predator of pests such as codling moth (Cydia pomonella) and apple sawfly (Hoplocampa testudinea), major pests that can damage fruit crops. eWeeding doesn’t disturb the soil therefore leaving beneficials such as earwigs to do what they do best.

A RootWave eWeeder provides flexibility to orchard managers, as its excellent efficacy and the fact that it can be used in a wide range of conditions mean that treatment can be made at optimal times. This helps growers reduce pesticide use, showing RootWave can form a key part of an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) farming system.