Home » Issue 23-2021 » News » Band spraying – next step

Band spraying – next step

In the previous issue of terraHORSCH we introduced our project “Band spraying with a crop care sprayer”. On different sites the project partners used crop care technology where the kingpin steering was controlled via camera or GPS and where the nozzle was led over the plant row during application accordingly. Practical farmers, however, quite successfully also use technology without steering systems.

In the first year of the project the tests were mainly laid and observed in level terrain. It became apparent that a bandwidth of 20 cm could be put into practice. There are, of course, also customers who with high precision and under optimum conditions already use herbicides with lower bandwidths in their row crops. In the test a band that was laid at a distance of 5 cm at the right and at the left side of the row facilitated mechanical weed control in the row with a hoe. This “safety” distance of 5 cm to the crop resulted in excellent efficiency with relatively low plant losses. In this – for mechanical weed control – particularly difficult year with regard to the weather this method protected the crop from competition pressure even in the close range.

In the next step the test sites were extended to hilly terrain. This was where this year we examined the sowing precision. The results of the measurements from one seed drill width to the next in hilly terrain were mixed in the first year. As expected, sowing without RTK-controlled steering was not successful for this method – an experience we had already made on level fields. But also with RTK a receiver near the seed coulters, i.e. at the back of the machine proved to be very advantageous for the steering in hilly terrain.

With these findings we are going to start into the next test year. In addition, we want to extend the band spraying method with different questions to further row or ridge crops (e.g. potaotes or other legumes). The task now is to accompany ideas and new innovative solutions for other row widths like 50 or 70 cm for the next test season and gather further experiences.
In autumn, the project focussed on the topic of nozzles. Nozzle manufacturers develop special band nozzles for this area of application. In our tests we were able to test the RowFan 40-02E nozzle and use it on some fields to support the acceptance procedure pursued by AgroTop. Moreover, in autumn we together with the Julius-Kühn-Institute took measurements with regard to the drift reduction of the nozzles. We expect to receive the results in 2022.

To achieve a certain variability of the bandwidth three are nozzle caps with two different offset angles (7° and 45°). Thus, bandwidths between 20 and 30 cm depending on the offset angle can be realised with a 40° nozzle and a target area distance between 30 and 40 cm.

Due to this method we may manage to reduce the use of herbicides in row crops significantly and at the same time to regulate the competition pressure in the close area of the crop. More and more farmers already use this method on their farms.
We together with our partners will continue to examine the operational reliability, the required effort and the risks especially on slopes. We will keep you informed about the course of the project.

The project partners: