Adding extra precision with boom height sensors

No matter the type of sprayer, maintaining the correct boom height is essential for the best effectiveness of your spray jobs. There are balancing systems, support wheels and boom height sensors to assist sprayer operators in doing so.

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When working with WEED-IT precision spraying technology, another aspect of correct boom height becomes essential: the success (or kill) rate of herbicide applications. WEED-IT sensors work optimal when they are 1,1 m above ground. So, an inadequate (especially too high) boom height means that certain weeds may not be hit. With spray booms without support wheels, factory fitted boom height sensors manage to maintain the correct boom height above the crop or the ground yet they don’t control the activation of (sets of) nozzles. This functionality therefor is soon to be incorporated in WEED-IT boom height sensors adding extra precision to your spray jobs.

The best or nothing

The newly developed WEED-IT ultrasonic boom height sensors are not intended to correct or influence the balancing nor the height of spray booms. They detect whether the height of the boom above the ground or crop matches the best height for an optimal effectiveness of your WEED-IT spray jobs which typically is 90 to 130 centimetres. If the height of the boom exceeds a certain predefined bandwidth, the sensors will trigger the spray lines and nozzles to flush by opening all nozzles in the relevant boom section. This is to ensure that any potential weed, no matter how small or how big, is hit by the herbicide mixture for the best success/kill rate. If not, weeds may flourish, bloom and multiply. Flushed boom sections can be as small as four nozzles or one metre.

Experienced WEED-IT users know that its developers always aim to provide the best of the best innovative and future proof technology to help farmers tackle weeds. That’s why WEED-IT has decided not to rely on existing boom height sensors and to develop its ultrasonic boom height sensors inhouse. This ensures that distinct functionalities - boom height and balance versus a spray line in flush - are not interfering with each other. Besides, WEED-IT boom height sensors are also intended to detect and record crop heights while in crop spraying.

The equipment will become available as an optional add-on to existing WEED-IT Quadro offerings and can be retrofitted to existing setups very easily. Depending on the setup of the spray boom, three or five sensors are advised. The anticipated commercial launch for the WEED-IT boom height sensor system is Q4-2021.

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