A plant-based foam mixed with hot water has worked as well as glyphosate weedkiller at removing weeds from olive groves and has also been used successfully in urban areas

Environment 19 September 2022

Hot foam being sprayed on weeds

Weedingtech

A heated, plant-based foam has been shown to kill weeds as effectively as a commercial chemical spray and may be a safer, eco-friendlier alternative.

“It’s really fascinating, it works very well regardless of the weed growth stage,” says Ilias Travlos at the Agricultural University of Athens, who conducted an independent study of the hot foam at two small olive groves in Greece.

Farmers remove weeds because they steal water and nutrients from food crops and can attract destructive insects and pathogens.

The most common …