André Dülks and Franz Wieck develop innovative products for hoe technology

The start-up DULKS – Ecological agricultural technology was founded at the beginning of 2017 by André Dülks, agricultural scientist, and Franz Wieck, mechanical engineer, with the aim of developing innovative products for hoe technology.

The ABRAH hoe from DULKS consists of two rolling tool discs arranged one behind the other, which rotate in the direction of travel. Firstly, the tool discs destroy the weeds by allowing the discs to enter the roots of the weeds. The hoe also improves the soil structure by breaking up the crust and crushing the existing clods.

The first product is the hoe ABRAH. It combines weed control with an improvement in soil structure. It was presented for the first time at the agricultural event “NRW Feldtag” in the state of NRW on 13 June 2017, and at the nationwide agricultural event “Öko-Feldtage” on 21 and 22 June 2017.

The hoe can be adjusted to a row spacing of five centimetres or more, which makes it possible to hoe between a double rows of carrots, for example. The combination of weed control and tillage also harbours the benefit that the safety distance to the crop can be reduced. The ABRAH is, therefore, perfectly suited for young crops on rather challenging soils.

The hoe can be used on all light to heavy soils and best performance is achieved on soils with few or no stones. Its compatibility with all common hoe frames allows the ABRAH to be retrofitted.