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Real-time satellite data will tell growers how much product is needed to control disease, resulting in more efficient use of fungicides
Bayer’s digital crop spraying system set to arrive by 2018
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EUROPE BY DAVID JONES
variable-rate fungicide spray system that could save growers money on pesticides is set to be available next year in France and
Germany, before being introduced to the UK the following year. The plan is to use a wide range of data, from
weather to variety choice, to allow wheat growers to target T2 flag leaf sprays on areas facing heavy disease pressure and apply reduced sprays where pressure is lower. Tobias Menne, head of digital farming at
Bayer’s crop science division, said the company would learn from its experience in France and Germany in 2018 before launching the system in the UK in 2019. “We will be using real-time satellite data to
tell growers how much product is needed, to achieve better timing and encourage the efficient use of fungicides,” he said. The German company is looking to update
the Field Manager system it acquired with the purchase of Proplant – a software company
specialising in plant health diagnosis – 18 months ago, which gives risk alerts about a number of crop diseases. The newly updated system will use rainfall,
temperature and varietal information, and then add satellite data on the thickness of crops to assess disease risk to achieve the right spray timing and dose rate. Mr Menne also hopes the improved
targeting of diseases, such as septoria at the T2 stage, will encourage growers to use the best product available. “By targeting applications, farmers can use
better and more expensive [fungicide] products if they are confident it will be more effective,” he added. Experience in Canada in spring oilseed rape, or canola, which typically only receives one fungicide spray because of the short growing season, showed fungicide spraying could be switched off in certain areas of the field that only have a thin crop. Mr Menne said the new system would be
compatible with most existing electronic systems in tractor cabs.
▶ FUTURE FARMING | 9 November 2017
Precision spraying company joins the
John Deere family US A California company known for taking precision farming to the individual plant level with weed-sensing and spot-spraying systems is to become part of the John Deere family. Deere & Co is investing $305m to fully
acquire Blue River Technology (BRT) and gain a leading position in computer vision and machine learning systems, much as it did with GPS guidance, connectivity and optimisation
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