Biotehniški Center Naklo

The study evaluated the effectiveness of a prototype hoeing robot (HR) for non-chemical weed control in vegetable production. A controlled greenhouse experiment was conducted at BC Naklo (Slovenia) on four plots (30 × 30 cm) sown with garden cress (Lepidium sativum) and radish (Raphanus sativus). Three plots were treated with robotic hoeing, while one served as a control. Results demonstrated a progressive reduction in weed density: effectiveness ranged from 53–88% after the first hoeing, increased to 90–97% after the second hoeing, and reached 100% elimination after the third hoeing across all plots. These findings confirm the strong potential of robotic hoeing as a sustainable alternative to manual labor and herbicide use, particularly in organic farming systems. From an economic perspective, HR reduces reliance on seasonal labor and lowers long-term production costs, thereby improving farm profitability.

The use of medicinal plants has been decreasing gradually. Our main objective\n was to determine whether young people today are still familiar with medicinal\n plants, and whether traditional knowledge, which forms part of the cultural\n heritage, has been lost or is still being passed on to new generations. In\n our study, we found that the majority of 19-year-olds used medicinal plants\n occasionally. They mostly buy dried plants or products based on medicinal\n plants; they rarely grew plants themselves. Their general knowledge\n concerning the use and effects of using these plants was not satisfactory.\n Students were only able to identify correctly a few medicinal plants, and\n most were not able to recognize poisonous plants. It was proposed that more\n time in school should be devoted to this topic because pupils did show\n interest in medicinal plants. This could be in the form of an elective module\n in the frame of an open curriculum that would also include growing plants in\n a school garden.