The search for a non-herbicide weed control method has led to the development of novel electrical weeding technology.

Lead researcher on the AgResearch project Dan Bloomer says so far they've successfully killed weeds in the greenhouse using precisely applied micro shocks of direct current voltage.

He says with weeds becoming resistant to chemical herbicides and consumers increasingly not wanting chemicals near their food, other weed eradication methods are needed.

And the big advantage of this technology compared with other commercially available electric methods is it uses far less energy. 

The weed control work also includes machine vision and robotics to control escape weeds in field crops.

Dan Bloomer will be conducting field trials in the coming cropping season.