IARN — BASF officials discussed their latest innovation for weed identification and management at Commodity Classic.
BASF’s Smart Spraying solution offers real-time, automated pre-emergence and post-emergence weed identification and management day and night. The project is a joint venture between BASF and Bosch.
Greg Kruger, senior agronomist for BASF, says the company will distribute its Smart Spraying solution, which Bosch and BASF are developing and testing, to initial markets in North America, South America and Europe.
“We’re really trying to pull the pieces together to create a fully-integrated system. We’re really wanting to start before the season with determining what, when and where we are going to apply products. We will take that data, moving it into the sprayer so that we can make those spray applications. And then taking that data from the spray applications back into our field manager platform so that we are making more informed decisions the following year.”
Combining Bosch’s high-tech camera sensor technology and software with xarvio’s agronomic intelligence enables Smart Spraying in milliseconds to precisely detect weeds in crop rows and to spot apply herbicide only where needed. Kruger says trials have shown herbicide volume savings of 70% are achievable.
“In a nutshell, we’re using a lighting system with our technology so that we create a more uniform environment that we are taking those pictures so that we get more consistency from that machine from field to field, environment to environment, and day to day as those weather conditions change and things like that.”
Kruger says Bosch BASF Smart Farming will have the Smart Spraying solution available in limited capacity this year.
“What I’ll tell you is we have a couple of these machines that will be rolling across fields this year doing research trials. It’s pretty exciting to see how those machines will be implemented going forward.”
More information on the joint venture is provided under smartfarming.ag.
Story courtesy of the Iowa Agribusiness Radio Network.
Smart Spraying solution from BASF and Bosch. (Photo courtesy of BASF)
