New sprayer technology unveiled by Kverneland

Kverneland has added three technical innovations to its sprayer range: a Closed Transfer System (CTS), iXflow-Pulse (pulse width modulation) and the advanced DAT Ecopatch patch-spraying system.

The chemical inductors fitted to the Kverneland sprayer range are adapted to integrate CTS equipment directly at the filling station. CTS allows the sprays to be transferred from the container to the sprayer tank in a completely closed system. Kverneland says this eliminates almost all user exposure and prevents environmental emissions during filling.

The Kverneland iXflow-Pulse (PWM system) takes care of stable spraying pressure over a wide speed range during variation in application rate. The manufacturer notes that it ensures consistent droplet size and coverage, regardless of speed. With iXflow-Pulse with iXcurve there is a different output from the inner to the outer boom side, dependent on the boom speed, which is claimed to result in an equal application rate across each boom segment.

DAT Ecopatch

The DAT Ecopatch AI-vision system identifies weed patches and sprays green-on-brown and green-on-green in real time. The DAT Ecopatch system recognises and categorises weeds in fields and compares them to 15 years of images in its database. Kverneland explains that the DAT system looks down at crops to actively pick out weeds, rather than most systems, which it claims looks ahead, but are liable to miss weeds which sit under crops. When weeds are recognised by the camera, a signal is sent to the sprayer and the appropriate nozzles are turned on. Cameras are generally mounted every 1m2, with sprayer activation in sections, rather than individual nozzle control. The system works in crops such as cereals and oil seed rape. The system can be adjusted to spray at different thresholds based on the crop selected and conditions in your individual fields. This results in a more efficient and reduced usage of plant protection products.