Fewer approved herbicides, fewer people available: weeding has become the main driver of agricultural robotics. An overview of the technologies, what they are worth in the field, and where a tool carrier like TOOGO fits in.
Updated 25 September 2026
Why now
Chemicals are in retreat. France's Écophyto 2030 strategy targets a 50% cut in the use and risks of plant protection products.1 Since 2020, glyphosate has been banned in the inter-row of vineyards and orchards in France.2 In sugar beet, several herbicides have been withdrawn or are under threat.3
Hand weeding is expensive. In organic field vegetables in France, hand weeding takes an average of 12 h/ha/year, compared with 2.4 h/ha/year for mechanical weeding, or a quarter to half of the time spent on the plots.4 It is coming back in conventional production too: up to 77 h/ha for carrots in Normandy.5
Labour is short. In 2023, 57% of planned agricultural recruitments in France were considered difficult to fill.6 A robot does not replace a team, but it takes on the repetitive passes.
The technologies
Inter-row hoes with shares or blades, finger weeders, tine weeder, rotary hoe. The most widespread and most proven technique, compatible with organic farming. According to the ITB, these tools cut the herbicide TFI by 40 to 50% in sugar beet.7
Limitations: aggressive on young crops (before the 4-leaf stage in sugar beet), weather-dependent: you need 2 to 3 dry days after hoeing.8
Examples: TOOGO (with your own tools), Naïo Oz, Carré Anatis, FarmDroid FD20, Farming Revolution.
A camera and artificial intelligence locate each weed, and a laser destroys it. No chemicals, no soil disturbance.
Limitations: high investment (a 3.60 m model is listed at €355,000)9, output limited by the number of lasers.
Example: Pixelfarming Robot One.
The robot places a droplet of herbicide on each weed it identifies. The volumes used are tiny compared with a broadcast application.
Limitations: still chemical, so not compatible with organic farming; distribution still limited in France.10
Example: Kilter AX-1.
A boom fitted with cameras treats plant by plant. Often tractor-mounted rather than autonomous. Combined with hoeing, band treatment on the row cuts herbicides by 50 to 66% in sugar beet according to the ITB.7
Limitations: still chemical; needs a tractor and a driver.
Example: Ecorobotix ARA.
In short
| Mechanical | Laser | Micro-spraying | Targeted spraying | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero chemicals | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Organic-compatible | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Soil disturbance | Yes (beneficial or not depending on the soil) | No | No | No |
| Weather sensitivity | High (soil must be dry enough) | Medium | Medium | Medium (wind) |
| Other uses for the machine | With a tool carrier: drilling, soil cultivation, mulching | No | No | The tractor, yes |
Our approach
A specialised weeding robot is often used for only a few weeks a year. That is what weighs on its profitability: in sugar beet, an ARTB-ITB study measured +32% in mechanisation costs for a specialised robot, despite €167/ha saved on herbicides.11
TOOGO turns the problem around: it is a tool carrier. It weeds with your inter-row hoe, tine weeder or finger weeders, guided to ±2 cm by RTK and kept centred by the side-shifting frame. Then it drills, cultivates the soil and mulches. More weeks of use, fewer tools to buy again.
FAQ
Not necessarily. A mechanical weeding robot can do without them entirely, particularly in organic systems. In conventional farming, hoeing is often combined with band spraying on the row: the ITB then measures 50 to 66% less herbicide in sugar beet.
Mechanical weeding (hoeing, finger weeders, tine weeder), guided by RTK and sometimes by camera. Laser and micro-spraying are more recent.
In organic field vegetables in France, an average of 12 h/ha/year, compared with 2.4 h/ha/year for mechanical weeding (VivLéBio2 project). In conventional production, up to 77 h/ha for carrots in Normandy.
It is a tool carrier: it weeds with the inter-row hoe, tine weeder or finger weeders you hitch to it, guided to ±2 cm. And it is also used for drilling, soil cultivation and mulching.
Weed with your own tools, with no driver.
A TOOGO demo on your farm.
