AGCO, Bosch BASF Smart Farming develop smart spraying tech

AGCO Corp. and Bosch BASF Smart Farming will integrate and commercialize Smart Spraying technology on Fendt Rogator sprayers, and jointly develop additional features. (Photo: AGCO)

AGCO Corp. announced that together with Bosch BASF Smart Farming it will integrate and commercialize smart spraying technology on Fendt Rogator sprayers while at the same time jointly develop new features.

In May 2021, AGCO and Bosch BASF Smart Farming started the first trials of the latter company’s Smart Spraying Solution, which the companies said will deliver optimal herbicide savings without compromising weed control and will enable targeted spraying during day and night-time conditions.

In addition to targeted spraying, AGCO said the system will deliver integrated digital tools to turn the application data into actionable insights and improve yields and efficiency for farmers.

Herbicide savings are delivered through sophisticated sensoring, automated sensitivity thresholds, access to Bosch BASF Smart Farming’s pest identification technology, and the use of Fendt Rogator’s application platform. AGCO expects to offer the system in the Americas and Europe starting in 2024.

Cameras are shown along the boom of a Fendt ag sprayer. (Photo: AGCO)

Farmers will also benefit from customized agronomic recommendations and reliable documentation within the same solution. The system will offer an end-to-end user experience through AGCO on-board and off-board controls and Bosch BASF Smart Farming’s integrated digital platform from Xarvio Digital Farming Solutions, with insights into the data gathered during the application.

Supported crops currently include corn, soy, cotton, canola, sunflower, and sugarbeet, with capabilities for more crops such as small grains being added over time.

“The progress we have made with Bosch BASF Smart Farming in developing a sustainable solution that maintains productivity while improving profitability and delivering clean fields with maximum savings is an excellent example of AGCO’s farmer focus,” said Seth Crawford, senior vice president and general manager, Precision Ag & Digital, AGCO. “We look forward to our further collaboration with Bosch BASF Smart Farming as we work together to bring this solution to farmers and custom applicators around the world.”

Bosch BASF Smart Farming is a joint venture of Bosch and BASF that was established in 2021 to combine agronomic know-how from BASF and hardware expertise from Bosch.

“What makes our system unique is the combination of superior precision, digital tools and the agronomic expertise. With a 24/7 application capability, we create exceptional green-on-green and green-on-brown performance,” said Matt Leininger, Managing Director North America, Bosch BASF Smart Farming. “This type of precision agronomics offering is a breakthrough to support farmers with less impact and higher yields.”