TECHAGRO
3.-7.4. 2016

PROFILE OF EXHIBITS

Brief characteristics of the exhibit

GARFORD RoboCrop SPOT SPRAYER - this machine, and the corresponding software has been developed to prevent and eliminate undesireable plant growth in vegetable plantations, such as potatoes from the previous year in carrots, aggressive quick-growing weeds such as datura, orache, etc. The camera aided computer system first analyzes the distribution of rows and localizes plants of non-standard shapes and sizes - the so called weed clusters - with a speed of 30 frames per second at a machine speed of 5km/h. Then, using a specially designed nozzle, selective or total herbicides are injected accurately on the weeds, while ensuring that the planted vegetables are not affected, the herbicide microdrops remain on the weed leafs and start acting there quickly. Vegetable farmers will appreciate the GARFORD RoboCrop SPOT SPRAYER especially since the registration of several important selective herbicides has expired in the EU. Newer chemicals have a much higher cost of whole-area application, so a 98% saving on the amount of chemicals used considerably affects the cost of vegetable cultivation, while drastically reducing the chemical load on the soil. It also eliminates expensive manual labor (manual hoeing). The GARFORD RoboCrop SPOT SPRAYER protects the environment, and the reward will be healthy vegetables for every table.

Specification of advantages compared to the competitors

GARFORD RoboCrop SPOT SPRAYER capitalizes on several years' worth of headstart the GARFORD company has in developing software for robotic in-row and between-row cultivation, where other companies are still at the beginning of development when it comes to robots working in vegetable cultivation. This advantage was gained by the development of the acclaimed GARFORD RoboCrop InRow robotic hoe, which is used by vegetable farmers mainly for the cultivation of crops planted in rows. SPOT SPRAYER is the next step in development, it is controlled by specially designed software using a real-time feed from high-quality cameras which observe the entire area in front of the machine to a distance of several meters. The total savings on herbicide costs are 98-99%. During testing, weeds were succesfully eliminated with as little as 2% of herbicide used in comparison with whole-area application amounts. The GARFORD RoboCrop SPOT SPRAYER machine consists of three separate sections with a width of two meters each, with an effective working width of 6 meters total. The machine can be connected to any tractor over 37.5 kW (50 hp) equipped with a 3-point front mount.

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