TECHNICAL: The new high-voltage desiccator, from innovative young German company Crop.Zone, combines electric current with a conductive solution to increase the efficiency of electrical desiccation. We discover how it works.
The idea of using electricity to kill off green plants is not new. In principle, it works. High DC voltage causes cells within the plant to burst and thus destroys their vascular system. The result: the plant’s water supply is disrupted and the plant dries. However, the voltage and energy required are higher than actually necessary due to the plant’s protective waxy layer. The Crop.Zone design reduces this physical barrier in a very simple but clever way — a conductive saline solution is sprayed immediately before the current is applied, increasing the electrical conductivity of the plants.
Volt.Fuel overcomes resistance
Working together with Nufarm, Crop.Zone has developed spray solutions that reduce the electrical resistance of the plant’s surface tissue by a factor of ten to fifteen. As well as mineral salts, the solutions contain wetter additives to reduce the surface tension of the water so that it uniformly coats the surface. The two products are named Volt.Fuel and Volt.Fuel Bio, the latter being approved for organic farming. Both are free of nitrates and phosphates and low in chloride.
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