Cost-efficiencies gained from targeted spray technology from John Deere’s See & Spray Ultimate.
By Andrew Joseph, Farms.com
The thing about naming something “Ultimate”, is where does one go from there?
For Deere & Co., it apparently they doesn’t care, as it launches its See & Spray Ultimate machine—an in-season targeted spray technology that utilizes a dual product solution system for corn, soybeans and cotton.
The factory-installed system is available for the 2023 models of its John Deere 410R, 412R, and 612R Sprayers, which will allow the operator to perform target spraying of non-residual herbicide on weeds among the aforementioned crop types—reducing herbicide usage by more than two-thirds.
"We've been on a technology journey with our customers since broadcast spraying," said Franklin Peitz, Marketing Manager for John Deere. "We moved to a zone-focus with section control and then advanced to individual row control with ExactApply. We're excited to optimize each individual plant using See & Spray's artificial intelligence and machine learning."
The See & Spray Ultimate targeted spray technology was designed by Blue River Technology, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Deere & Co.
It has cameras and processors mounted on the new carbon-fibre John Deere truss-style boom, and uses the computer vision and machine learning to detect and differentiate between weeds and crop plants.
It has one camera mounted every one meter across the width of the boom, which equates to 36 cameras on a 120-foot boom scanning more than 2,100 square feet at once. The accuracy of the target spray is enhanced by BoomTrac Ultimate, a new boom height control system from John Deere.
"While operating at up to 12 mph (just under 20 kph), See & Spray Ultimate's targeted spray technology can help farmers reduce their non-residual herbicide use by more than two thirds and maintain a hit rate comparable to traditional spraying," stated Peitz. "For farmers, this decreased herbicide use can significantly lower herbicide costs, reduce tendering stops, and helps them cover more acres per day."
And then there’s its split tank with dual-product capability, that allows the farmer to combat herbicide resistance by using two independent tank mixes in one pass while avoiding possible antagonism in more advanced tank mixes.
"We executed several strip trials, and in one strip trial in Illinois soybeans we compared the weed control results of a broadcast, single tank mix to See & Spray Ultimate's dual product solution system," Peitz said. "The single tank mix had three modes of action and with dual product we were able to add a fourth mode of action that wouldn't be as effective with a one tank mix due to antagonism. The See & Spray Ultimate dual product pass with the fourth mode of action resulted in seven percent better weed control than the broadcast pass, providing better yield protection for the farmer. Through the addition of another mode of action, chances for herbicide resistance development are also reduced, adding another layer of yield protection for the future."
John Deere is offering two tank options are available, 1,200 and 1,000 gallons:
- 1,200-gallon option is split into a 450-gallon tank for targeted spraying and a 750-gallon tank for broadcast spraying.
- 1,000-gallon option is split into a 350-gallon tank for targeted spraying and a 650-gallon tank broadcast spraying.
"Farmers can apply a residual broadcast application and non-residual targeted application in a pre-emergence pass or targeted spray only as a clean-up pass. This also allows farmers to rethink their fungicide and liquid fertilizer passes," Peitz explained.
John Deere MY23 Sprayers come factory equipped with JDLink connectivity, a new integrated StarFire 7000 GPS receiver, and a Generation 4 CommandCenter display. The StarFire 7000 receiver builds upon the success of its predecessors and brings to market a new type of RTK signal—the SF-RTK, which Deere & Co. calls the easiest RTK solution to use, relying solely on satellite communication. These technologies combined enable the operator to reduce overlap and maximize inputs all with less stress.
As See & Spray Ultimate travels across the field, the Generation 4 Display allows a farmer to analyze savings by seeing how much ground was covered compared to how much was sprayed. After a pass is made, a map showing weed pressure within each field is available in the John Deere Operations Center. This enables a farmer to compare the weed map to their yield map and make decisions about their weed-control program.
Peitz said these analytical tools provide insights to make more-informed field management decisions year after year.
"From a sustainability standpoint See & Spray Ultimate can help farmers use less herbicide and decreases opportunities for drift, and that's better for everyone," Peitz noted.
Limited quantities will be available for ordering later this year in the US and Canada. For more information about See & Spray Ultimate, visit the John Deere website at www.johndeere.ca, or a local John Deere Dealer.