Autonomous mowers are battery-powered machines designed for lawn mowing that
require very low human labour. Autonomous mowers can increase turf quality and reduce local
noise and pollution compared with gasoline-powered rotary mowers. However, very little is known
about the effects of autonomous mowing on encroaching weeds. The aim of this research was to
compare the effects of an autonomous mower and an ordinary gasoline-powered mower on weed
development in an artificially infested tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) turf with different
nitrogen (N) rates. A three-way factor experimental design with three replications was adopted.
Factor A consisted of three N rates (0, 75, and 150 kg ha1), factor B consisted of two mowing systems
(autonomous mower vs. walk-behind gasoline rotary mower equipped for mulching), and factor C
which consisted of four different transplanted weed species: (a) Bellis perennis L., (b) Trifolium repens L.;
(c) Trifolium subterraneum L.; and (d) Lotus corniculatus L. Of these, B. perennis is a rosette-type plant,
while the other three species are creeping-type plants. The interaction between mowing system and
transplanted weed species showed that the four transplanted weed species were larger when mowed
by the autonomous mower than by the rotary mower. The autonomous mower yielded larger weeds
probably because the constant mowing height caused the creeping weed species to grow sideways,
since the turfgrass offered no competition for light. N fertilization increased turf quality and mowing
quality, and also reduced spontaneous weed infestation. Autonomous mowing increased turf quality,
mowing quality, but also the percentage of spontaneous weed cover