intelligent spray application
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Bert van Sonsbeek Freelance reporter Agrotechnology, The Netherlands b.vsonsbeek@gmail.com Info Digital orchard in Agromanager It is rather easy to use Google Maps to display the outside contours of the orchard. The GPS data obtained when spraying can then be used to identify the location of the rows and the first and last tree of each row. For new orchards, there is increasingly more digital positioning data available related to rows and trees. These data are easy to enter into the Agromanager management program. Website More information about the H.S.S. Intelligent Spray Application® (I.S.A.) and other sprayers from Hol Spraying Systems can be found on the website www. holsprayingsystems. com. Hol Spraying Systems from Meteren, the Netherlands, has created a sophisticated sprayer for the fruit sector. Using the appropriate sensors, every tree, dependent on shape and size, receives a specific amount of spray liquid. The measurement data from the sensor is rapidly sent to a management program. The fruit grower can then exactly track the growth and development of every individual tree and or an entire orchard, and make application maps that are used to control the amount of liquid sprayed dependent on the location during the next spray session. Working with new techniques and opportunities is in line with the philosophy of Hendrik Hol, from Hol Spraying systems (H.S.S.). Within the Dutch projects 'Fruit 4.0' and 'Nationale Proeftuin Precisielandbouw' (see NPPL), the company collaborates with other research partners to create a smart sprayer. This has resulted in an interesting concept incorporating a smart sensor, new spray nozzle technology and effective data management. This combination of technologies allows the fruit grower to address every tree individually, dependent on shape, size and vigour. The first machines will start to operate in the field in 2020 and allow the project partners to observe the results and to search for further optimisations. Smart sensor Together with Wageningen University & Research (WUR; the Netherlands), H.S.S. searched for the most suitable sensor for measuring tree shape and foliar mass. They found a company that has many years of experience in recognising foliar mass against certain backgrounds. The sensor shines a beam of light on a tree and the chloro-plasts in the leaves reflect a small amount back. According to calculations made by Wageningen University & Research, the H.S.S. I.S.A. sprayer can reduce the amount of spray product used by 25%. Hol Spraying Systems The sensor measures this reflected light and can use the information to distinguish the leaves from the surroundings. In practice, this means that the sensor can measure the tree shape, the leaf density and the open spaces between the trees. H.S.S. will launch the sensor with its own label H.S.S. I.S.A. on the market, where I.S.A. stands for Intelligent Spray Application®. H.S.S. equips a single row sprayer with six of these sensors, three on each side. This allows the data concerning foliar density to be recorded at three heights and on both sides of the tree. The measurement results obtained can then be used in two ways. The most direct way is to use this data at the same moment to control the spray nozzles. In practice, this means that the volume of spray liquid is immediately adjusted to the foliar density at three tree heights. WUR found that this can result in savings of approximately 25% of spray products.

The H.S.S. I.S.A. sensor shines a light beam on the tree and measures the reflected light. The amount of reflected light is related to the foliar mass. NPPL/Stadje Media Of course, this depends on the age and density of the trees in the row, but the type of fruit and the variety also play a role. The sensor measurement data can also be stored in a management program, which can combine them with the exact location, determined by an accurate GPS system. Every time the sprayer sprays the orchard, details of the orchard are recorded that provide insight into the development of the individual...

In 2020, REGpro, the Dutch registration program, has been included in Agromanager with the name Spuitschrift (spraying notebook). This has given Agromanager a geographical component that is extremely suitable for storing and providing insight into the data from the sensor, GPS positions and the amount the H.S.S. I.S.A. sprayer’s nozzles dispense. This allows the fruit grower, using a PC, tablet or smartphone, to quickly consult the data from an entire orchard, an individual row or even an individual tree at three heights. The amounts sprayed are also available per tree, row or orchard....