As plant protection product use declines, we need to become more efficient at how we apply pesticides. Agronomy is a big part of this, but so too is the technology we use to apply those products.
Over the past number of years we’ve gone from using tramlines, to GPS, to section control and nozzle control on sprayers. The next step in this is to apply product only where the product is needed.
Spot spraying weeds could save money, be better for the environment and help to prevent resistance by applying targeted rates to problem weeds.
CultiWise technology
At a recent Farmhand information event on CultiWise technology, Martin Kapso said that it is a platform for making better decisions based on data and noted that you need a reasonable amount of hectares in order to save more money than you invest.
The technology can be used across different machines and is currently being used by 550 customers, the biggest of which farms 6,000ha in eastern Europe. The technology can be used for sowing, spreading and spraying to target inputs more efficiently.
How it works
Drones are flown over crops and multispectral cameras look for differences in crops, identify weeds and check if the plant is healthy or not.
The drone images are uploaded to the CultiWise platform. Other maps can also be used to make better decisions; for example, soil and yield maps could be added to help with sowing rate decisions.
These maps can be graded according to importance, so the yield map might only contribute to 10% of the decision for example, but the soil map would have more of an impact.
If you are sowing, you can then have a standard, strong and weak zone for planting rates. This can be over-written in the field if the farmer decides the rate needs to be increased.
Spot spraying
When using the technology for spraying, you can target weeds in a green crop. This is called green-on-green spraying and is more difficult than green-on-brown spraying in a stubble field with weeds, for example.
The drone flies over the crop and this map needs to be uploaded to the sprayer, which then applies a herbicide where the weeds are. It also applies a buffer around the weed to make sure the target is hit.
One example was that 8ha of a 37ha area was sprayed using spot spraying so significant savings can be made, depending on weed issues.
Individual nozzle control is desirable, but savings can still be made with section control.
It should be noted that you will need drone images that meet the specifications needed for CultiWise, so a drone or access to a drone that can take these images and a subscription needs to be purchased.
Crops and Technology, a joint event from the Irish Farmers Journal and Teagasc, takes place on Wednesday, 25 June in Teagasc Oak Park. A technology demonstration will run throughout the day.
Cost savings.Capacity increase (more acres sprayed to a tank).Yield potential increase.Reduction of crop stress.Quality increase.Reduced risks to the environment.
As plant protection product use declines, we need to become more efficient at how we apply pesticides. Agronomy is a big part of this, but so too is the technology we use to apply those products.
Over the past number of years we’ve gone from using tramlines, to GPS, to section control and nozzle control on sprayers. The next step in this is to apply product only where the product is needed.
Spot spraying weeds could save money, be better for the environment and help to prevent resistance by applying targeted rates to problem weeds.
CultiWise technology
At a recent Farmhand information event on CultiWise technology, Martin Kapso said that it is a platform for making better decisions based on data and noted that you need a reasonable amount of hectares in order to save more money than you invest.
The technology can be used across different machines and is currently being used by 550 customers, the biggest of which farms 6,000ha in eastern Europe. The technology can be used for sowing, spreading and spraying to target inputs more efficiently.
How it works
Drones are flown over crops and multispectral cameras look for differences in crops, identify weeds and check if the plant is healthy or not.
The drone images are uploaded to the CultiWise platform. Other maps can also be used to make better decisions; for example, soil and yield maps could be added to help with sowing rate decisions.
These maps can be graded according to importance, so the yield map might only contribute to 10% of the decision for example, but the soil map would have more of an impact.
If you are sowing, you can then have a standard, strong and weak zone for planting rates. This can be over-written in the field if the farmer decides the rate needs to be increased.
Spot spraying
When using the technology for spraying, you can target weeds in a green crop. This is called green-on-green spraying and is more difficult than green-on-brown spraying in a stubble field with weeds, for example.
The drone flies over the crop and this map needs to be uploaded to the sprayer, which then applies a herbicide where the weeds are. It also applies a buffer around the weed to make sure the target is hit.
One example was that 8ha of a 37ha area was sprayed using spot spraying so significant savings can be made, depending on weed issues.
Individual nozzle control is desirable, but savings can still be made with section control.
It should be noted that you will need drone images that meet the specifications needed for CultiWise, so a drone or access to a drone that can take these images and a subscription needs to be purchased.
Crops and Technology, a joint event from the Irish Farmers Journal and Teagasc, takes place on Wednesday, 25 June in Teagasc Oak Park. A technology demonstration will run throughout the day.
Cost savings.Capacity increase (more acres sprayed to a tank).Yield potential increase.Reduction of crop stress.Quality increase.Reduced risks to the environment. 
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