Institut für Anwendungstechnik im Pflanzenschutz
The MORE-bot project is developing a robotic solution for slug control in horticulture. This development is necessary because snails contaminate products by eating, mucus and fecal traces, which makes marketing impossible. The snails thus cause a reduction in yield. Large quantities of lettuce, cabbage and other vegetables have to be disposed of every year. In order to avoid this damage, slug pellets are spread according to the current state of science and technology. The slug pellets are often only used when damage is visible. Due to the duration of action, the control success occurs too late. The success of slug pellet application is also extremely dependent on weather conditions. In addition, the possibilities for intervention are limited for commercial vegetable production. Besides two active substances for slug control, only manual collection remains. Under the emergence of invasive species, an alternative method is urgently needed. With the applied research and development work, the manual snail collection will be taken over by a robot. The aim of the proposed research project is to provide the commercial vegetable sector with an efficient system that enables the production of high-quality food without the use of chemical pesticides.
Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture
