
China has unveiled the world’s first laser topping robot, overcoming a major hurdle in cotton’s laborious cultivation cycle to achieve the quest for fully mechanised cotton production, according to its developer.Cotton topping involves removing the plant’s top bud to redirect nutrients towards lateral branches, boosting boll formation and yield – a process that has long been plagued by inefficiency, inaccuracy and crop damage.The laser topping robot was jointly developed by Xinjiang University...