Nozzle control technology promising chemical savings of up to 8% and new boom sizes will be among the developments being put through their paces in the Sprays & Sprayers arena.

Developments will bring further refinement and productivity potential to existing machines

This includes higher definition section control for short work and angled headlands in the case of the AmaSwitch system from Amazone because it provides individual nozzle shut-off.

See also: Blue LEDs lengthen crop spraying day

Operating through the manufacturer’s GPS-Switch section control, the new system can isolate nozzles one by one using an electric valve in the manual triplet nozzle carrier in areas of the field where tramlines converge and as the sprayer approaches an angled headland.

Conversely, it reverses that procedure when departing such areas to regain full working width.

With nozzles spaced 50cm apart, AmaSwitch optimises the benefits of automatic section switching, says Amazone, claiming typical chemical savings of 3-8% over conventional nozzle controls, depending upon field shape.

AmaSwitch is available from this year on all Amazone UF mounted, UX trailed and Pantera self-propelled sprayers.

Team Leader4 trailed sprayer

The same individual nozzle switching feature is also now available with the AmaSelect electric four-nozzle cluster, which in addition to spraying width adjustment can be used to remotely change from one nozzle type to another.

Similarly, the system will automatically switch between nozzles of different sizes to maintain application rates and spray quality across wide-ranging operating speeds.

A new extension kit sets up 25cm nozzle spacing on the boom, which can be exploited using 80deg spray tips to bring boom height to 50cm or less for reduced drift.

Altek

Auto boom height control is the main feature of the RiteHeight control system, being launched at the event by Altek International following the company’s appointment as UK dealer for Greentronics, a Canadian electronics manufacturer.

Ultrasonic sensors mounted near the boom tips continually monitor ride height above the ground or crop canopy, while a processor interprets the data to make adjustments using the using the sprayer’s existing electric‐over‐hydraulic controls.

“Smart” self‐calibration is designed to automatically adjust to the sprayer’s hydraulic performance and installation is said to be straightforward as fitting the sensors and simple electrical connections are all that is involved – no hydraulic plumbing is required.

As with all boom height controls, the RiteHeight system is designed to allow operators to set booms low with confidence to limit spray drift and reduce the operator’s workload, especially in hilly or rolling fields.

Knight Farm Machinery

Multi-geometry boom levelling is part of the new “4D” suspension design being unveiled by Knight Farm Machinery.

Vicon iDrive self-propelled sprayer

Distance Control II has more sensors than the current system and controls the boom’s two wing sections independently, allowing them to drop below horizontal if necessary to maintain the correct height over severely undulating ground.

Suspension and boom control systems have been designed together – rather than the latter being an add-on – for optimum performance, says Knight.

This led to further isolation elements being added between the boom and sprayer to minimise the influence of ground conditions and to change the way the boom control system interacts with the structure.

Hardi

While Landquip plans to show its Fastrac demount sprayer with rear-folding booms – giving a narrow transport width of 2.5m – for the first time, Hardi has achieved similar compactness with the StackForce arrangement on its latest Delta Force boom, which despite wider working widths keeps transport width down to 2.55m.

The twin-fold design is being produced in  27m, 28m and 30m sizes for Hardi Navigator and Commander trailed sprayers of 3,300- to 7,000-litres capacity.

A refreshed suspension system – DynamicCentre – is described as a robust, adjustable design capable of working in different field conditions and speeds, five separate settings available to fine-tune the set up.

Part of the design is a new hydraulic damping arrangement for yaw control, suppressing the forwards and backwards movement that can be induced in a boom after a turn or when the sprayer passes over a hump in the ground.

Triple-fold versions of 32m, 33m and 36m will soon be available with section-fold capability, making it possible to work a 36m boom at 24m, for example.