A clever spot-spraying system developed by a small Lanark-based technology company has the ability to detect unwanted weeds, such as docks in grassland, before administering a dose of herbicide.

The brains behind the kit is computer whizz Colin Taylor, who has been working on farms all his life and recently set up Taylor Technologies to fine-tune his Rumex system.

It uses a combination of inexpensive webcam-style cameras, computers and artificial intelligence software fitted to a second-hand mounted sprayer. 

The cameras, which cost about £50 each, are mounted on the sprayer at 1.2-1.5m intervals (10 across Mr Taylor’s 12m boom). They take images that are instantly compared with a library of 20,000 tagged pictures – half of which feature target weeds such as docks, nettles or thistles, and the other half showing a clean grass crop.

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He reports no issues in using slightly cheaper equipment, which still has the resolution and processing capacity to spot different weeds roughly 75mm in diameter. The ideal dock leaf size is comparable to an outstretched palm – this is where the chemical works at its best.

Once a weed is spotted, a spray nozzle is triggered to apply the chemical. This can be achieved accurately at speeds of 6-8kph, says Mr Taylor.

He began the project as part of his MSc in agricultural technology at Royal Agricultural University and, after continuing to test and refine the software element, is now on the hunt for a commercial partner. 

In the meantime, he has signed up a number of local farmers for contracting trials this year, and he hopes testing the prototype on a larger area will improve both accuracy and efficiency of the system.