Targeted spraying of weeds to reduce herbicide use is a technology that is rapidly gaining traction with growers and now global giant AGCO is getting ready to bring a product to market
AGCO has announced it has entered into a proof of concept (PoC) collaboration agreement with the Bosch, BASF and Raven Industries companies with the objective of evaluating targeted spraying technology.
Similar to other technologies already in the market like the Croplands WEED-IT, the AGCO targeted spraying PoC will focus on real-time sensing technology to make crop protection decisions. By detecting weeds in growing crops as well as on fallow ground, day or night, the technology will execute precise targeted product placement down to the individual plant level. In addition to the environmental benefits, targeted spraying will help enhance farmer profitability by only spraying the herbicide where needed. This makes the use of more efficient herbicides affordable allowing for much better weed control. Where optimal herbicides are already used, the smart sprayer provides a volume and cost reduction.
AGCO’s initial concept is being evaluated on a Fendt Rogator sprayer in Europe with plans to extend to North America in 2022.
Bosch will contribute its hardware, machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities to the project, while BASF Xarvio Digital Farming Solutions will provide an automated, real-time, in-field agronomic decision-making engine for weed management and crop optimisation. Raven Applied Technology brings its commitment to sprayer efficacy and operational efficiencies that will further enable precision control of chemicals for targeted spraying applications.
