CNH Industrial agriculture brand Case IH has announced a collaboration with Australian technology company Agtecnic on an integrated weed control solution.
Agtecnic specialises in safe, innovative, autonomous solutions to solve challenges in agriculture, and has developed SenseSpray out of the need for more efficiency and precision around controlling weeds.
SenseSpray’s patent-pending green-on-brown-spot spraying technology employs cameras that detect growing plants on a soil or stubble background, and when a weed is detected, the system rapidly triggers individual nozzles to spray weeds with pinpoint accuracy.
Under the collaboration, SenseSpray has been incorporated into purpose-built kits that customers will have the option of having fitted to new Case IH Patriot® 50 series sprayers before delivery.
“This really is technology that brings a new level of effectiveness and efficiency to a big issue for Australian farmers. To be able to offer the SenseSpray system on our Patriot 50 series sprayers is such an enormous opportunity for customers, who will not only find it game-changing for their weed control operations, but also very straight-forward to operate,” said Sean McColley, Case IH AFS and Patriot Product Manager.
“SenseSpray utilises the technology already in the sprayer cab, and it can also be managed by the tablet provided with each kit to easily set up or run diagnostics from within the cab or while walking around the boom.”
In terms of efficiency, SenseSpray can reduce chemical use by up to 90% by using product only where it’s needed, and eliminates product and water wastage to allow for the spraying of more hectares per tank. There’s also clear environmental benefits from only spraying where required.
With the spot-spraying system, the options for weed management are expanded too, with the potential to use more expensive chemical controls that would be less cost-effective as part of a blanket-spraying regime.
Aaron Bett, Case IH Australia/New Zealand General Manager, said the brand was always looking at different ways of bringing increased value for customers right across the product range.
“Our Patriot sprayers already offer some of the best features on the market, so when we became aware of this integrated technology developed by Agtecnic, we immediately saw the opportunity to add to the benefits of the Patriot 50 series,” he said.
“We’ve been working for some time with Agtecnic to fine-tune and test the efficacy of SenseSpray on our Patriot to ensure its performance in a range of conditions, and the promise of increased returns for customers.”
Agtecnic co-founders Peter Roberts and Rob Johnson outlined the significance of the collaboration for Agtecnic, which is aligned with their mission to enable agricultural autonomy. The integration of SenseSpray with the existing technology featured in the Patriot 50 series sprayers unlocks next level precision spraying, increasing efficiency and reducing chemical usage. They are excited to see how the collaboration evolves, and how further value can be delivered to customers.
Kits will become available in time for the start of the summer spraying season, and for more information, contact your local Case IH Dealer.