Comment Bulk Herbicides: Now Unnecessary (Score 5, Interesting) 435
Computer vision is more than adequate to have robots roll around a field, identify weeds, and use either thermal disruption, plucking, or extremely localized weedkiller injection (mLs) right at the base of the weed. All of these approaches are working at the research scale:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SSxNBwegfo8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMF7EuCAVbI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TtgMNj6xCkk
and for harvesting:
http://www.optoiq.com/index/display/article-display/303062/articles/vision-systems-design/volume-12/issue-8/features/profile-in-industry-solutions/vision-system-simplifies-robotic-fruit-picking.html
but with below-minimum-wage foreign labor and generic Roundup too cheap to bother, it will take legislative action to make the switch.
Write your congressman.