When you think of military weapons, you tend to imagine things such
as bullets and bombs. The Air Force is experimenting with a new tool for
its arsenal: a wand that zaps a concentrated beam of light and heat.
The electric device uses a combination of heat and high-energy blue light
to kill the plants’ leaves and roots. Treated plants, according to
manufacturer Global Neighbor, die in as little as three days. “We’ve had
a pretty good success rate,” said Jon Jackson, the company’s president.
“We get about a 70 to 80 percent die-back without regrowth.” He said
NatureZap is particularly effective on ragweed, dandelions, and
crabgrass. The light penetrates about two inches into the soil, so it
only affects targeted weeds and not the “good” plants around them.
Global Neighbor has received two rounds of funding,
totaling nearly $900,000, from the federal government’s Small Business
Innovation Research program to develop and test the NatureZap device.
Danny Reinke, principal scientist for the 412th Civil Engineering
Group at Edwards Air Force Base—who developed the device with Global
Neighbor—told the Desert Wings newspaper that NatureZap may be useful in meeting the military’s requirements to reduce its use of toxic chemicals under the Sikes Act,
which helps protect endangered species on Department of Defense
property. He’s testing a battery-powered version of the device that
reportedly can treat a softball field–size area between charges.
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