Uptake of weed detection technology is on the rise as farmers look to manage hard-to-kill weeds while reducing herbicide use.
The WeedIt optical spot sprayer has been gaining market share in recent years, however farmers have been looking for better accuracy of weed detection, particularly under high stubble loads.
In response Croplands are about to launch the next generation Weed-It Quadro, boasting 10 years of development along with extensive calibration and testing under Australian conditions.
Croplands Equipment portfolio manager Steve Norton said the new Quadro sensor technology utilised a blue light source with increased power efficiency, which had proved more accurate at detecting weeds, and less sensitive to background noise compared to the previous red lighting.
Mr Norton said a new dual core processor would deliver fast communication and high sampling frequency, and the technology had been tested and calibrated extensively in Australian conditions.
"Initial testing was undertaken in Australia in January 2018 and since then, the Quadro sensor had undergone substantial changes to both the hardware and software," he said.
Mr Norton said WeedIt sensors were placed at one metre intervals across a boom, and controlled four nozzles on 25 centimetre spacing, increasing penetration in stubble and minimising shading of small grasses.
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