Three new high-tech options are available for Kverneland’s sprayer range to improve application accuracy and ease filling.

The most interesting is the addition of Ecopatch, a weed identification system developed by fellow Norwegian firm Dimensions Agri Technologies.

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It uses a series of cameras strung along the boom to collect footage of the crop below.

In a nanosecond, this is relayed to some clever software that classifies the component elements of each image before deciding whether to open the necessary nozzles and administer a dose of herbicide.

The kit can detect unwanted species both on stubble and in growing crops – including grassweeds in cereals.

Unlike other systems of this type, it doesn’t control individual nozzles but rather 4m sections of the boom to hit patches of weeds.

This means it might use slightly more herbicide as a result, though KV keenly points out that it’s more likely to hit its target than a squirt of chemical-laced liquor from a single outlet.

PWM accuracy

The sprayers are now also available with the firm’s iXFlow-Pulse pulse-width modulation setup.

This well-established technology uses solenoids to flicker the nozzles 20 times a second, thus maintaining the desired droplet size irrespective of changes in forward speed.

One major advantage is its ability to compensate for variations in boom speed as the sprayer turns, increasing output to keep to the target application rate at the outer tip and, conversely, reducing it on the inner sections.

The third addition is a closed transfer induction system that means operators can empty compatible chemical cans without any risk of exposure to splashes or spillage.

This sealed system comes with an integrated flow meter, allowing precise input volumes of as little as 15ml.