LASCO

Electric Discharge System (EDS)
Lightning Weeder

The optional tilt feature adapts the clearance
of the applicator bar to slopes up to 22°.

The LW-10 eradicates tall weeds in row crops.

Lightning Weeder is a commercial tractor-mounted electric weed control unit that is currently being used in the U.S. to target tall weeds without the use of herbicides. The power source is a power take-off (PTO) driven, brushless alternator that is connected to the applicator bar through high voltage cables. The power unit hooks to a 3-point attachment and the applicator bar can be mounted in front or used as a pull-behind. Lightning Weeder requires a tractor that has at least 120 PTO horsepower.

The hydraulically controlled copper applicator bar is up to 40 feet wide. It adjusts to variable heights to cope with any crop that has weeds above the crop canopy: tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, lettuce, spinach, soy, edible beans, peanuts, sugar beets, wheat, barley, to name a few.

The applicator bar spans the entire operating width of the unit. Positioned slightly above the crop tops, it delivers precise electrical pulses directly to weeds, disabling them from root to shoot while leaving soil and crops untouched.

This targeted approach reduces waste, eliminates chemical exposure risks, and preserves the living biology vital to healthy, productive soil.

Lasco CEO Kevin Olson recommends reduced power (often a 30% drop) for early-season weeds, depending on the conductivity factors of moisture and dew.

Some kinds of weeds can be easily killed with a lower power setting, and it also depends on the daily conditions of humidity and temperature.

“If you’re running the bar over 5-6” weeds or less, you need to reduce your voltage so we only draw an arc when there is a current path (weed). Later in the season, mature weeds get the maximum power.”

Soil Conditions

Differences in silt loam, buckshot, heavy sand and general variations in soil types (and moisture content) can require changes in power, as well as root types. “Fibrous or taproots aren’t an issue, but a rhizome may require multiple passes,” Olson says.

Control Panel

LASCO Control Panel, which integrates well with the control panels of all modern tractors. It’s easy to change the settings.

Features

HMI (Human Machine Interface) Digital Touch Screen Control
Full control of electrical power, for monitoring and controlling voltage and current to match all field conditions and available tractor horsepower.
Safety interlocks for operator and support personal safety. The grounding coulters must be in contact with the soil and the machine must be moving approximately 1 mph In order to engage the machine.
Front mount or rear mount applicator bars are available.
Castering coulters for improved grounding and the ability to follow wandering rows without soil disruption. They help maintain a consistent and even grounding path. They provide greater flexibility and ease of turning throughout the field and around obstacles, as the coulters can rotate 20 degrees right and left.

Applicator bar width from 11 feet to 40 feet.
Low horsepower requirements. A tractor with at least 120 power take-off horsepower. Small and large 1000 RPM PTO options.
Hydraulically elevated applicator bar plugs into the tractor’s service ports at the rear of the tractor allowing infinite elevation control by the operator to maintain proper clearance of the applicator bar to the host crop. The tilt feature allows the operator to lower the right or left end of the applicator bar to easily follow changing crop height or contours In the field.
Larger pulleys (heavy duty drive) for higher horsepower tractors, creating more surface contact for the belt reducing belt slippage, heat, increasing belt life.