New Holland is billing its new sprayer automation offering as the most versatile and productive ‘sense and act’ technology on the market.
Both New Holland and Case IH unveiled their versions of the live variable rate and selective spray application technology at the Commodity Classic in Denver, Colorado. In this report, New Holland director of precision technology Paul Welbig shares how New Holland’s IntelliSense Sprayer Automation uses a single cab-mounted, factory-fit SenseApply camera unit to continuously scan upcoming field conditions (50 feet in front of the sprayer) across the full width of the boom from a high vantage point atop the cab.
The system supports seven application modes including live variable rate for nitrogen, plant growth regulators, fungicide, harvest aid and burndown. These functions operate by automatically adjusting the amount of each input applied based on detected biomass health levels.
The Selective Spray function offers operators the choice of two application options — spot spraying and Base + Boost. Spot spraying utilizes green-on-brown functionality and operates by detecting weeds smaller in stature (less than two inches in height) and activates nozzles on the boom that correspond to the location of the detected weed.
The Base + Boost mode applies a uniform base rate across the entire coverage width and activates a localized boost rate from nozzles where weeds are detected. When the camera identifies a weed, IntelliSense Sprayer Automation boosts the maximum application rate for that single weed within the herbicide’s prescription rate range.
The system has a 140-foot-wide field view and operates at speeds of up to 25 mph for live variable rate application and 19 mph for selective spray. It will be available factory-fit on 2026 Guardian series front boom sprayers. Welbig notes that a retrofit kit will be available for Guardian sprayers model year 2023 and above. There’s also an aftermarket version that growers can put on various sprayer makes and models. Watch the video below.
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