Tomato and pepper may be ideal crops for abrasive-weeding
because they have an erect, upright stem growth habit. Abrasiveweeding
indiscriminately abrades stem and leaf tissue of both
weeds and crops and the success of the tactic depends on a size
differential between weeds (small) and the crop (large) (Wortman,
2014). Grit applicator nozzles can be targeted at the base of a crop
stem to minimize crop tissue damage to the apical meristem, but
this strategy is most effective in reducing crop injury if the crop is
taller than the emerged weeds. Tomatoes and peppers are typically
transplanted, which provides the needed size differential between
the crop and weeds. In addition, these crops are often vertically
trellised, which may help minimize leaf tissue damage during grit
application and plant lodging after application (Wortman, 2014).
Vining and leafy crops, where a majority of the vegetative or
marketable portion of the plant is on or near the soil surface at the
time of grit application, will be less compatible with abrasiveweeding.
Similarly, direct seeded vegetable crops will be less
compatible due to size similarity between crops and weeds,
resulting in increased damage to the crop during grit application.