New Holland has introduced IntelliSense™ Sprayer Automation, the most comprehensive application automation solution on the market and a factory offering for new Model Year 2026 Guardian™ series front boom sprayers: the SP310F, SP370F and SP410F. The system can be used on a wide spectrum of crops — from corn, soybeans and cotton to pulse crops and small grains like wheat and canola — with an unprecedented list of full-season application functions, including herbicide, fungicide, plant growth regulator, nitrogen and harvest aid. This technology is accessible with no annual subscription requirements or per-acre fees.
"IntelliSense Sprayer Automation is the newest addition to the New Holland machine automation portfolio, joining our existing harvest automation and baler automation solutions. This system features innovative live variable rate and selective spray modes, which will increase the productivity, efficiency and quality of application already synonymous with the Guardian front boom sprayer to a whole new level," says Curtis Hillen, cash crop segment lead, New Holland North America. "Operators and farmers are going to be able to optimize the return on their inputs and increase productivity both in terms of acres covered and resulting crop uniformity and yield. IntelliSense Sprayer Automation is in a class of its own as the most versatile sense and act spray technology available."
Unique positioning creates an eagle eye vantage
Unlike other smart apply technology familiar to North American applicators and farmers, which employ multiple boom-mounted cameras, IntelliSense Sprayer Automation uses a single cab-mounted, factory-fit SenseApply Camera unit.
The SenseApply camera unit is a forward-looking, multi-spectral vision system that enables IntelliSense Sprayer Automation to continuously scan upcoming field conditions (50 feet out in front of the sprayer) across the full width of the boom from a high vantage point atop the cab. The result: an expanded vision of the field that generates quicker and longer leading assessments, allowing the operator to drive and apply accurately at a faster speed than any other sense and act technology on the market today.
Comprehensive group of unique sprayer functions drives application productivity
The leading aspect of the new IntelliSense Sprayer Automation is its Selective Spray function. It offers operators the choice of two application types to enhance herbicide applications: 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.
Where an operator is applying a broadcast herbicide over a field, 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 SenseApply camera identifies a weed, IntelliSense Sprayer Automation boosts the maximum application rate for that single weed within the herbicide's prescription rate range.
These two operations offer farmers enhanced capabilities to utilize their herbicide application: the ability to apply a broadcast herbicide to knock out smaller weeds and a prescription rate to manage larger weeds. Within both Selective Spray modes, the operator can alter sensitivity and coverage area. This means the operator can adjust the system's responsiveness to weed size based on a scale of small, medium or high and the target application area where a weed is detected.
Beyond Selective Spray, IntelliSense Sprayer Automation bolsters its capabilities with a range of full-season live variable rate application functions that further elevate a sprayer’s productivity, utility and overall operating ROI. Functions include nitrogen variable rate application (VRA), plant growth regulator VRA, fungicide VRA, harvest aid VRA and burndown VRA. These functions operate by automatically adjusting the amount of each input applied (nitrogen, PGR, fungicide, harvest aid and burndown) based on detected biomass health levels.
To further in-field productivity, a Guardian front boom sprayer actively engaging one of the VRA functions can operate at speeds up to 25 mph. If Selective Spray is in active use, the sprayer can run at speeds up to 19 mph. This is an industry-leading speed range that ensures sprayer operators can maintain a high level of in-field performance and quality of application to maximize every ounce of input running through the boom.
Currently, IntelliSense Sprayer Automation can be used on a variety of crops, including corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, canola, cotton, small grains, edible beans and other legumes.
Results beyond in-field productivity
“The conversation around sense and act technology always gravitates toward savings,” Hillen states. “Productivity is imperative, but farmers also want to know how it’s directly affecting their wallet.”
According to Hillen, IntelliSense Sprayer Automation can create cost savings for applicators by enabling more efficient applications. In 2024, Kansas State University and CNH partnered to conduct field trials evaluating the performance of IntelliSense Sprayer Automation’s nitrogen VRA function in corn. The findings: ~10 percent savings in applied nitrogen compared to a constant broadcast rate. Contributing to this result is the system’s nitrogen VRA function, which can identify and automatically apply the most appropriate amount of nitrogen within the prescribed rate range according to the assessed plant biomass health.
“If that crop has already met its potential and an operator is broadcast applying, they’re wasting that nitrogen application. With IntelliSense Sprayer Automation we can turn the level of applied nitrogen down or up based on what that crop might need. We’re analyzing and nurturing individual plants now versus taking a wide brush to everything in the field to more efficiently and effectively use our crop inputs and those precious budgets,” Hillen comments.
The nitrogen use efficiency of IntelliSense Sprayer Automation creates financial savings but also extends the activity of that sprayer tank, allowing the operator to not have to stop and fill up as frequently. Considering the Kansas State University research, a 1,600-gallon sprayer tank now becomes, in theory, a 1,700+ gallon sprayer tank.
“With this technology, we’re generating savings for the farmer across every type of application they’re making. It’s a full-season solution,” Hillen says. “IntelliSense Sprayer Automation is giving us better and faster application placement without compromising results to drive productivity and positive financial results, from maximizing yield to dialing in our application efficiency. It’s a tool unlike anything a farmer, custom applicator or ag retailer will find in broadacre crops.”
IntelliSense Sprayer Automation will be available factory-fit on Model Year 2026 Guardian series front boom sprayers — the SP310F, SP370F and SP410F. This technology will be on display for a first look at Commodity Classic 2025 in Denver, March 2-4, in the New Holland booth (#4503). For more information, visit https://agriculture.newholland.com/en-us/nar or contact your local New Holland dealer.