WeedAway: A Tractor-Attached Autonomous Post-Harvest Weed and Debris Collection System
Keywords:
Post-harvest weed removal, Tractor attachment, Agricultural automation, Conveyor separation, Biomass collection, Soil separation, Sheet metal fabricationAbstract
Post-harvest weed management remains one of the most labor-intensive and economically significant challenges in Indian agriculture. After harvesting, residual weed stumps and roots persist in the field and, if left unmanaged, compete with subsequent crops. Existing solutions, including manual weeding, chemical herbicides, and rotary tillers, do not simultaneously cut and collect weed biomass in a single pass. This paper presents WeedAway, a tractor-attached post-harvest weed and debris collection system that integrates angled cutting blades, a perforated conveyor belt, a blower-based soil separation stage, and a collection bin. The prototype was fabricated using conventional manufacturing processes, including sheet metal cutting, welding, drilling, and bolt assembly. Preliminary field observations indicated a reduction of approximately 65% in field-preparation time and a significant decrease in manual labor requirements. Experimental observations and comparison with existing mechanized weed-management systems confirm the feasibility of the proposed design for small and marginal Indian farmers.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Nitin Ambhore, Shreeharsh Omase, Rehan Mulani, Darshan Patil, Om Shinde (Author)
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