High cost The first drawback is cost. John Deere offers the market-leading Raven Sidekick Pro system as a dealer-fitted option on its Des Moines, US- built self-propelled machines. The firm quoted Future Farming a price of $58,000 for a four-pump system, equating to between 15-25% of the price of the sprayer itself and a hefty investment by anyone’s standards. Second, despite the concept being simple,
direct injection systems – which are mostly retrofitted – place a heap more complexity on a sprayer, its operator and the service dealer, which often don’t have the expertise to offer the best after-sales support. This has, in some cases, led to reliability issues and reduced trust in the concept, leading to a history of farmers who have tried, failed and ultimately ditched direct injection.
Variable products Makers of direct injection kits have also struggled with product variation. Liquid pesticide formulations come in a huge range of viscosities and levels of abrasiveness, so have the potential to compromise reliability and accuracy of application. It has also been difficult to find a solution
that accurately meters dry formulations, such as wettable granules or powders. Perhaps the biggest problem, however, is
operator exposure – something that is under the spotlight and regulators are trying to eliminate where possible. With direct injection systems, there is a need
to pour neat chemical into holding tanks and if emergency maintenance of injection lines is required, exposure can be increased further. Finally, there are still all the containers that need rinsing and the injection system will need flushing from time to time, so you still have plenty of contaminated waste to deal with. So, with both pros and cons to direct
injection, what lies in store for the technology?
Increasing demand Demand is growing in North America. It is driven by weed resistance problems in GM Roundup Ready crops, with growers looking to spot spray different herbicides to help control tough-to-kill weeds. Danish sprayer manufacturer Danfoil also
WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?
▶ Raven Sidekick Pro: The global market leader in direct injection systems. Some sprayer manufacturers offer the Sidekick Pro as a factory- or dealer-fitted option. A four-pump system for a US-built John Deere machine retails at US$58,000. ▶ Danfoil Multidose 2000: Danish sprayer manufacturer Danfoil offers sprayers from 1,000-6,000 litres (264-1,585gal) fitted with its own direct injection kit (pictured), developed over 17 years. The system offers up to six dosing pumps with a margin of error of less than 5%. A 3,000-litre (793gal) Concorde trailed sprayer with five chemical dosing pumps retails at about $177,000. ▶ DiiMotion PiiX: French start-up DiiMotion’s PiiX system can be bolted on to any sprayer for $21,000-$26,000 depending on specification. The firm will also be marketing a 12-15m (40-50ft) mounted sprayer for horticultural use for about $35,000, capable of injecting up to four liquids plus one powder. ▶ Teejet Aeros: Like Raven, US spraying technology firm Teejet offer a retrofit system through their dealer network that can be installed on any sprayer.
reported a small rise in demand for direct injection technology in the past three years across Europe, particularly in Germany. This could be down to some of the flaws
attributed to the system being addressed, with companies such as French start-up Diimotion leading the way. Its PiiX direct injection system has a unique
patented dosing unit that claims to have higher accuracy (about 1% variation) than dosing pumps (about 5%) used on more established systems. It also maintains this accuracy regardless of
liquid formulation, aided by pressurising its chemical tanks to 0.5bar (7psi), and they have even developed a way to accurately meter and inject powders to within 5% accuracy.
Variable rate In addition, the firm is working on a new valve that will enable real-time variable-rate application on wide booms. It is hoped this will allow the use of sensors
to recognise weeds and disease and automatically apply the right spray for the job, exactly where it is needed. So far, its system has only operated in
vineyards or horticultural systems, but CEO Xavier Cassassolles believes the PiiX’s biggest market will be on broadacre-crop farms looking to vary rates to save chemical. Similarly, Danfoil is involved in a $2.9m
project, run by the Danish government, universities and industry, which is building up a huge digital image database of weeds at
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 9 November 2017 ▶ 11
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