When it comes to spraying crops, European farmers want accuracy and the ability to effectively control rates as they travel through the field.
North American farmers have similar spraying goals, but the size and capacity of equipment differs considerably from one continent to the other. In this report from Agritechnica in Hanover, Germany, John Deere product marketing manager Solenne Bourgeois discusses how different strategies, especially when it comes to equipment size, are used to help European farmers tackle weeds, pests and disease.
To illustrate this point, Bourgeois and RealAgriculture’s Bernard Tobin take a close look at Deere’s new European PowrSpray system for its R900i Series trailed sprayers. “It’s differently a different machine for different needs,” says Bourgeois. With a shorter wheelbase, the sprayer allows farmers to navigate smaller fields and travel narrower roads.
Bourgeois also notes the addition of wider tires to help manage compaction in fields that typically require more passes, compared to North America farms where bigger machines with wider booms are commonly employed.
The R900i Series trailed sprayers with PowrSpray, available in tank sizes of 4400, 5200 and 6200 litres, are the company’s latest innovative to hit the European market.
PowrSpray features two hydraulically-driven centrifugal pumps. The first fills the sprayer at up to 1200 litres/min, while the second, a 1000 litre/min spraying pump, has direct rate control for application rate changes and spraying accuracy. The self-priming, low-pressure-filling pump fills the sprayer rapidly even with the tractor engine at idle, thus reducing fuel use and noise during filling.
As well, direct rate control of the spraying pump enables operators to adjust between minimum and maximum output in less than three seconds, increasing rate control accuracy to a level that conventional systems cannot match, the company says. See the video below.
RealAgriculture’s coverage of Agritechnica is brought to you by Optimum GLY, a new canola trait technology from Corteva Agriscience.
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