The 1.8 km h−1 forward speed used in this experiment was slow in comparison to normal inter-row cultivation commercial practice (typically 4 km h−1). It was, however, substantially faster than the within-row hoeing rate achieved by manual labour with hand hoes as widely practiced in horticultural row crops. Further work will be required to assess the maximum forward speed that can be achieved with this technology, although the authors expect that after further development top speed will relate to a maximum disc rotor speed of two plants per second (i.e. 3.6 km h−1 for an in-row plant spacing of 0.5 m). Further work will also be required to assess the economic impact of this technology on commercial cropping.