A new sowing unit, designed to handle precision planting of large-seeded crops such as maize, beans and peas, should bring the FarmDroid autonomous seeding and weeding machine into the scope of many more UK farms.

The self-guided, electrically driven machine has previously been limited to small-seed crops like fodder beet, sugar beet, vegetable, salad and flower crops.

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But the new +Seed 14mm system handles seed sizes from 0.8 to 14mm, whether uniform or irregular in shape, planting them in rows or clusters as appropriate.

The key to the FarmDroid’s popularity so far is its ability to digitally record the precise location of every seed sown.

That enables it to replace pre-emergence herbicide treatments and start mechanical weed control earlier, long before weeds make it to the surface.

© FarmDroid

Targeted hoeing

Another advantage of its seed-plotting capability is that weed seedlings can be disturbed by dynamic hoeing tools within the row alongside fixed tools deployed between the rows.

Electric drive from solar-fuelled batteries, high-definition real-time kinematic (RTK) guidance, driverless working and light weight are other attributes of the three- or four-wheel vehicle.

At 7 litres/unit, the latest model comes with increased seed capacity for longer sowing periods before someone has to replenish supplies.

Its faster working speeds – up to 900m/hour, depending upon the crop involved – and an expanded range of weeding shares and blades suit different soil types and conditions.

FarmDroid says that software upgrades to further improve precision means the hoeing elements can now work even closer to crop seedlings.

Distributor Opico prices a FarmDroid equipped with the +Seed 14mm planting system from £69,400 and can supply kits for an existing six-row machine for £2,320/row.