John Deere has introduced See & Spray™ Select, the first commercially available John Deere machine featuring advanced spraying technology to help target and tame weeds. Farmers can use See & Spray Select, installed on a John Deere Sprayer, to minimise input costs and only spray weeds when they are detected.
The technology makes it possible for farmers to use more expensive and complex tank mixes more efficiently than what they can otherwise broadcast, improving their ability to control herbicide-resistant weeds at a lower cost, according to the company.
A big reduction in herbicide use with a similar broadcast hit rate
See & Spray Select uses camera technology to detect colour differentiation in the field and is ideal for small-grains farmers who manage weed pressure on fallow acres. As the sprayer moves through the field, its cameras rapidly detect only green plants within fallow ground and triggers an application to those plants. See & Spray Select has a similar hit rate to broadcast spraying² while applying 77% less herbicide on average¹. This opens the opportunity for farmers to save 77% on average of their non-residual, pre-emerge herbicide in these applications.
“Farmers battling herbicide resistance in their fields, can now utilize more expensive and complex tank mixes and achieve a more effective weed kill at a lower cost than they could have in the past, thanks to the cost savings realised from only applying products onto the targeted weeds versus spraying the entire field,” said Joel Basinger, marketing manager, John Deere. “Research has shown that weeds sprayed with complex tank mixes with more than two modes of action are 83 times less likely to develop herbicide resistance.”
Built on the John Deere ExactApply foundation, a 400 or 600 Series Sprayer can be factory equipped with See & Spray Select, making it the only OEM solution available that enables farmers to have both a spot-spray and a broadcast machine in one integrated package. “This helps farmers cover more acres per day because they’re not stopping as often to refill,” added Basinger.
See & Spray Select can be line fitted on new MY22 and newer John Deere 400 and 600 Series Sprayers, which include the 408R, 410R, 412R, 612R and 616R.
“A John Deere 400 and 600 Series Sprayer with See & Spray Select is really two effective time-saving sprayers in one,” continued Basinger. “If the job requires it, operators can easily switch to broadcast spraying without leaving the sprayer’s cab. When finished with fallow spot-spraying and a post-emerge broadcast application needs to be made with the same tank mix, John Deere ExactApply technology can be used and can save up to 5% in broadcast chemical costs.”
These John Deere sprayers come from the factory with fully integrated precision ag technology that delivers important data farmers and operators need to make informed agronomic and equipment decisions to benefit their operation. Data is collected in the John Deere Generation 4 Display and streamed via the JDLink connection to the John Deere Operations Center where it can be analyzed and securely shared with the farmer’s advisors.
“Fallow ground spot-spraying is only the beginning of the John Deere See & Spray journey as we help farmers transition from field, to zone, to row, and now to individual plant spraying,” said Basinger. “John Deere continues working on future solutions that will meet additional customer needs beyond See & Spray Select. These solutions will leverage foundational See & Spray technology to provide value for both pre- and post-emerge applications in crops such as corn, soybeans and cotton.”
1. Based on tank-level sensor values taken at a steady state on John Deere sprayers equipped with and without See & Spray Select, before and after covering 75,000 acres of fallow ground with a typical weed pressure of 3,000 weeds per acre, using small and medium spray-length settings starting at 2.3-3.2ft. (0.7-1m), and average growing conditions (seasonal precipitation and temperature) across the U.S. and Canadian Plains and Australian farms. Spray-length settings varied based on ground speed, spray pressure, and boom height. Sprayers were equipped with current hardware and software at time of study. Individual results may vary based on field and growing conditions, weed pressure, spray-length settings, and software version.
2. Based on 56 agronomic studies of See & Spray Select on fallow ground. Sprayers were equipped with current hardware and software at time of studies. Individual results may vary.
