
Overview
This service tests the performance, efficacy and efficiency of herbicide application systems that use AI and robotics to optimise spray treatments, including spot spraying booms and variable-rate applicators. It evaluates the system’s ability to apply herbicides accurately, reducing usage while maintaining effective weed control. Through controlled field experiments and real-farm testing, we assess herbicide savings, weed control effectiveness, crop yield impact and environmental benefits compared to conventional broadcast spraying methods. The service also validates the system's adaptability to different environmental conditions, such as varying soil types, weather, and crop growth stages, and it is applicable to herbaceous and arable crops, offering valuable insights for improving targeted weed control and reducing unnecessary herbicide use.
More about the service
•Before the service, clients may have an application system that works in controlled environments but lacks real-field testing under varying weed densities, lighting conditions, crop types and/or needs to quantify herbicide savings, treatment precision, and environmental impact.
•After the service, they will receive quantitative performance metrics and data-driven insights into how effectively their system applies treatments, potential drift effects, and overall impact on weed control efficiency and crop productivity.This allows precision agriculture companies to optimise herbicide application strategies while reducing costs and environmental footprint.
Trials can be repeated across different crop types and growth stages to ensure diverse field conditions.
This process can take up to 6-8 months, depending on the crop and system evaluation, and includes setup, treatment application, and post-treatment evaluation.
Testing can involve:
•Water-sensitive paper tests to measure spray accuracy.
•Environmental condition monitoring (wind speed, humidity) to assess drift risks.
•Real-farm validation to compare spot spraying vs. broadcast spraying in terms of weed control rates, herbicide use efficiency, and crop yields.
•Real-time and post-processing performance assessment, including hit rates.
Deliverables may include a detailed performance and evaluation report comparing spot spraying vs. conventional methods, herbicide savings analysis (L/ha) and its economic impact, and weed control efficiency metrics and crop yield impact, with recommendations for.
Customers must provide their herbicide application system and specify treatment parameters.