An 18-hectare chicory block at Poppe Landbouw in the Netherlands took only 10 hours of hand-weeding per hectare this season — down from 50 to 100 hours in normal years — after brothers Marien and Joos Poppe ran Andela's Robot Weeder and Electro Weeder in tandem. The result at the family farm in Nagele, Flevoland, sets a benchmark for what the pair of machines can do when conditions cooperate.

What do the two machines do?

Both units come from Andela Innovatie & Techniek in Nagele and run on a closed electrical circuit. The nine-metre Robot Weeder, model ARW-912, uses cameras and AI to identify weeds and kills in-row plants with electric pins on twelve weeding units. Poppe bought it in 2023 and has now run three seasons across onions, carrots and chicory.

The Electro Weeder, prototype AEW-180, sends current through weeds between the rows. Plant and soil resistance heat the tissue until the weed dies. The implement glides over the soil rather than disturbing a new seedbed the way a hoe does.

Why did the onion plot struggle?

On the 20-hectare onion block, the same system fell short of the chicory performance. Hylander and Redlander varieties were sown on April 10 — ten days later than 2025 — using primed seed for fast emergence, followed by a pre-emergence flame pass.

Then came a punishing June. Two heavy hailstorms and two to three weeks of rain left few workable days. The brothers ran the Robot Weeder three times on the onions, but only one Electro Weeder pass on June 16 proved possible. The machine had been lent to another farmer when a weather window opened.

"The Electro Weeder had been lent to another farmer, so when a window opened in June we could not use it," Poppe said. Knotweed colonised the tramlines, while shepherd's purse and perennial sow thistle pushed through within the row.

Hand weeding started ten days late and another week of manual work followed on the onion plot. Poppe is unambiguous about the fix. "We are better off purchasing an Electro Weeder ourselves. That way, you have more certainty that the machine is always available, ensuring you don't miss an opportunity during a rainy period."

Does the electric pass damage the crop?

Poppe has noticed onions next to tramlines rooting wider, which he attributes to the absence of soil disturbance. He is more cautious about leaf contact. "I wonder whether an onion plant that doesn't die might become weaker and more susceptible to a fusarium infection. We don't know that exactly yet," he said. The farm is now part of the NPPL+R data project tracking such effects.

What does the system actually deliver?

The chicory block tells the optimistic story. Poppe Vintor chicory went in after ridges had been burned twice and the Electro Weeder cleared the stale seedbed. The Robot Weeder ran three times at the end of June, followed by one hoeing pass.

"The strategy of removing weeds within the row with the Robot Weeder and weeds between the rows with the Electro Weeder worked well," Poppe said. "With fewer than five weeds per square metre, it was pretty clean."

He cites three further gains over flame and hoeing: the robot catches "very tiny weeds" the eye misses, the Electro Weeder avoids creating a fresh seedbed, and electric shocks set back thistles and grasses more decisively than pre-emergence flame. In carrots, bunching chickweed now dies cleanly where hoeing struggles.

What is Andela delivering beyond Nagele?

Sales of the Electro Weeder have outrun the Robot Weeder at Andela. Paul Andela, who runs the company, confirmed 40 Electro Weeders sold against 13 Robot Weeders across domestic and export markets. He is broadening the toolset: "We are continuously expanding with datasets for different crops. Important adaptations include the expansion of different tools for various applications: from vegetable cultivation to floriculture, arboriculture and tray fields."

What to watch into 2027?

Johan Booij, who monitors weed counts at Poppe Landbouw, reads the 2026 season as a chi­cory ceiling and an onion floor. "With onions the germination period is longer. Chicory is sown later in the season and closes its canopy faster," he said. "By purchasing a weeding robot or machine yourself, you can utilise it to its fullest as soon as the conditions are right."

A purchased Electro Weeder parked on the yard before next April is the Poppe brothers' clearest hedge against another June like 2026.