With the ever-increasing cost of chemicals and ever-decreasing supply of labor to hand weed any preemergence escapes, a lot of growers are looking for ways to stretch weed control in container operations. Well, last summer I saw an interesting prototype system to apply rice hulls to containers, developed by Stilt.Pro. My first thought was that this is perfect for situations whereby just potted plants have that two-week window before preemergence herbicides can be applied. Of course, any mulch also reduces weed pressure by depriving the weed seed of an environment conducive to germination and growth.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago when I learned that the Rice Hull Blower had been commercially released (their video is way better than mine). I was pretty excited to see this, as it’s the very first in-field blower-style applicator (that I’m aware of). It’s a simple design, made to last, and was designed with a heavy dose of grower-input. A two-man crew can apply the product at a rate less than 8 cents per pot (all-in cost). That’s pretty darn good in my humble opinion. Well done, Stilt.Pro!