U.S.: How Application Equipment Manufacturers Remain Focused on Accuracy, Efficiency
Technology breakthroughs in field equipment began to explode in the early 2000s with improving GPS technology and the initial wave of assisted steering systems, writes Paul Schrimpf at CropLife. The potential for increasing application efficiency and reduced operator fatigue with locked-in, no-touch steering made for rapid adoption of the capability — in about five years, assisted steering adoption among retailers accelerated from less than 5% in 2004 to nearly two out of three, according to the CropLife magazine-Purdue University Retail Precision Adoption Survey.
All eyes are on autonomous operation as the next mega-breakthrough in equipment technology, and progress is being made on this front. But there have been and continue to be a wide range of technological improvements to application rigs that are making step changes forward in accuracy and efficiency.
Back to Basics
The still growing challenge of managing weed resistance that has preoccupied herbicide manufacturers for more than a decade has had a similar effect on application technology. Dave Webster, Director, Application Equipment Marketing at AGCO Corp., says that retailer concern about the efficacy of product applications in weed control focused development and education effort toward a more “back to basics” approach.
“It’s one of the reasons we hosted crop tours this year, to focus our customers on optimizing the technology that exists on our machines,” says Webster. Improvements to boom height control responsiveness, designed to keep the boom at optimum height in relation to the canopy and not just the terrain, make a substantial difference in efficacy, he adds. Newer systems place sensors on the chassis and ahead of the boom, allowing the adjustments to height to be more predictive.
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Case IH also enhanced its boom height adjustment system, replacing ultrasonic sensors with radar sensors that are linked to a gyroscope on the chassis. “Not only is it a better sensor, but coupled with the gyro the sprayer chassis can pick up a terrace or hillside first and make changes more accurately,” says Mark Burns, Application Equipment Marketing Manager. “With the longer boom sizes, more sensors is better.” Spray rigs come standard with three sensors, but users can upgrade to five.
“Boom technology is something we continue to see as important,” adds Joel Basinger, Product Manager, Application for John Deere. “We’ve improved boom construction and suspension to keep it above the target and in the right space. Machines will lose significant accuracy without these systems functioning at a high level.”
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