Kilter
Kilter Effective and affordable weed control in vegetables
The Challenge
How to have effective and affordable weed control in vegetables with the benefit of a healthier crop and better yields?
Vegetable farmers are feeling the pressure as herbicide options shrink due to stricter regulations. Getting new products approved is costly and rarely done for small crops like vegetables. The herbicides which are available often aren’t designed for vegetables, forcing growers to use lower dosages which are less effective and can lead to resistant weeds.
On top of that, concerns about chemical residues are growing, with more attention to health and environmental impact. Manual weeding is expensive, and labor is hard to find in Europe. Smart mechanical solutions only work for row-crops under the right circumstances and potentially damage small or shallow rooting crops. . How can specialty crop growers address these agricultural challenges today?
Solution
Alternative weeding in vegetables
The Kilter AX-1 allows use of more effective chemicals which reduces the need for manual labor in weeding operations.
The light-weight machine minimizes soil compaction & enables treat crops with conventional herbicides or non-selective products starting when the weeds are really small, both in row-crops and high-density crops like leafy salads or spinach.
The machine is autonomous. It will allow the grower to make long days and take advantage of the often-better conditions during the night without the need of an operator present around the clock.
Kubota is testing sustainable alternatives for weed control and empowering growers to protect their crops effectively while promoting environmentally friendly farming practices.
Kilter a Norwegian start-up offers a solution specialized for vegetables grown on beds, which Kubota dealers and clients in Germany & Netherlands have been testing in 2025. The Kilter AX-1 has a modular design which fits existing tramline systems – Track width is adjustable from: 1.55 to 2.00 meters. The working width is either 1.31 meters (5 module machine) or 1.57 meters (6 module machine). The robot can cover up to 7 hectares per day.
Benefits
What are the benefits
The vegetable market has a focus on quality, uniformity and reduction of residues, therefore farmers are looking for the alternative weed control solutions. During the 2025 pilot, Kubota’s clients kept their fields clean with Kilter’s technology. At the same time they evaluated the impact on the yield and the overall crop health thanks to selective application.
The Single Droplet Technology used on the autonomous robot has a very low drift and super precise placement (6 x 6 mm) comparable to the work of an inkjet printer. The machine takes selectivity from chemistry to technology avoiding phytotoxic stress in the crop. A traditional broad acre herbicide application can stop or slow down the growth of the crop for up to 10 days leading to later harvest and/or yield loss. A stressed crop is more susceptible to other threats like pests, fungi or low temperatures, possibly leading to more use of chemicals and quality loss.
Kilter’s selective spraying also prevents residues in the crop, aligned with the growing demand for sustainable farming practices.
People
Voices from the Kubota Community
“Our farm business depends on the number of approved herbicides on the market. The number of available herbicides is declining rapidly for vegetables. Costs for weeding are increasing from year to year. That’s why we have a big challenge in weed control in various crops we grow. We need alternatives like Kilter’s AX-1 to make plant protection better, therefore we’ve had a robot on our farm since 2024 and started to adjust our farming practices. Kilter’s robot sprays only weeds and allows us to significantly reduce herbicide & costs for manual and mechanical weed control. I’m quite happy with the results achieved in celeriac & beetroots for the last two seasons and we are planning to scale the application to a larger surface.”
The Uhrbach farm is member of the Mecklenburger Ernte producer organization and located to the South of Hamburg. It is managed by a family of mom, dad and three brothers. They are producing a large variety of vegetables like iceberg lettuce, celeriac, may turnips beetroot & other root crops.
Tjark Uhrbach used two Kilter AX-1 robots in 2024 and 2025 and observed spot spraying technology is a great addition to his weed control toolbox.
The Uhrbach farm is member of the Mecklenburger Ernte producer organization and located to the South of Hamburg. It is managed by a family of mom, dad and three brothers. They are producing a large variety of vegetables like iceberg lettuce, celeriac, may turnips beetroot & other root crops.
Tjark Uhrbach used two Kilter AX-1 robots in 2024 and 2025 and observed spot spraying technology is a great addition to his weed control toolbox.
Testimonials
UN Sustainable
Development Goals
The Great Plains Implement Command System contributes to the UN Sustainable Development Goals of achieving zero hunger, promoting industry, ensuring sustainable development and protecting life on land.
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