Weather update Crop protection
Spray manufacturers turn to hoeing technology
John Deere, Lemken and Amazone. All 3 have recently added hoeing machines to their program. That while they also build field sprayers for chemical weed control. In addition to 'green products', manufacturers see benefits in large-scale biological weed control.
Amazone announced on Thursday October 25 that it would acquire fellow manufacturer Schmotzer (effective January 1, 2019). The Bavarian company has been building hoeing machines for almost 100 years and has also acquired fame in the Netherlands; especially in the 50s, 60s and 70s. However, the history is known: chemical weed control emerged and the hoeing machine disappeared.
Hoeing makes a comeback
“After 3 decades, hoeing is coming back,” say Amazone executives Christian and Justus Dreyer. "The technology is more prominent worldwide. Outside the sector, it led a withdrawn existence and only the organic companies continued to hoe." Amazone sees the addition of hoeing machines as an important addition to their plant care package.
- Christian and Justus Dreyer
Already in November 2015, John Deere (completely unexpectedly) took over the French brand monosem about. Quite special, because the brand announced earlier that year that it would market their American precision sowing technology itself in Europe. In addition to the sowing machine, Monosem also builds hoeing machines. At the Agritechnica in 2017, Deere showed a GPS system to control hoeing machines via side shift on the tractor.
Camera in demand
More recently in memory is Lemken's 'move'. At the end of August of this year it was announced that both Steketee and Rumptstad took over† The company was honest about the vision: they mainly want to do the Steketee camera-controlled hoe. The South Holland company is a star in this.
Amazone is also interested in camera technology. "Thanks to cameras and control systems, it is possible to achieve higher capacity at a much lower cost," says Schmotzer Managing Director Ferdinand Wahl. Amazone sees more potential for this technique, for example by combining hoeing with the application of liquid fertilizers.
"Plant protection products can also be applied selectively. This can be done while hoeing, but you can also mount such camera techniques on the field sprayer." Lemken also has that vision and wants to put it into practice in the short term.
Claas system
Schmotzer uses Claas's system or its own Okio camera. Both are intended to steer the hoe blades along the plant as accurately as possible. Agrocom took over the Danish company Eco-Dan in 2007 and that is how it got its own camera control system. There have been no real major innovations in this area in recent years. Steketee pioneered Eco-Dan, but decided to develop a camera himself.
Steketee's technology goes further. Their machine can also hoe in line. In addition, plants are recognized and, in the near future, a dose of fertilizer or agent can be administered per plant. The British Garford also has an intra-row hoeing machine. Agrifac turned it around and launched cameras on their field sprayer (AICPlus) at the beginning of this year to be able to recognize individual weed plants and to spray site-specifically. That's what Lemken and Amazone are all about.
Spraying and hoeing
John Deere and Monosem haven't shown a camera hoe yet. The German Einböck supplies the Claas system (Row-Guard), as do some other companies. Perhaps in the future more large manufacturers will add hoeing technology to their package; especially when it already builds sprayers.
If the production figures of one machine fall, another can absorb this and you are still sitting at the customer's table. In addition, an integration of both products is taking place, with which companies hope to attract more conventional companies.
Niels van der Boom
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