Field Testing of a Physical Impact Mill in the Canadian Prairies

Herbicide resistance in western Canada has increased interest in alternative weed management strategies. Physical impact mills, a form of harvest weed seed control, have been identified as a strategy that may be well suited for Canadian use. The efficacy of the Harrington Seed Destructor, a physical impact mill, was evaluated in 20 producer fields in Alberta on a wide spectrum of weed species over 3 years. Significant differences in weed densities between the physical impact mill treatment and the regular harvest densities were few, however some population density reductions were observed. Measurable reductions in weed densities may have been limited by the short timeframe of the experiment, the high initial densities of the weeds, or the targeted weed species having dormancy or longer-term seedbanks. Additionally, identified knowledge gaps on how best to optimize physical impact mill efficacy may have reduced the efficacy of the physical impact mill in this study. This study showed no conclusive evidence for the efficacy of a physical impact mill on tested weed species under field conditions. However, it did provide a number of important considerations for future studies.