Without fertilizing and using the field of plant protection products, it is not possible to think about a good harvest. But you need to use as much as you need and not a gram more. Otherwise, we can expect the emergence of weeds resistant to herbicides. Engineering thought moves in many directions at once, solving this problem. While some companies are doing more and more powerful self-propelled sprayers, which work faster than trailed, Blue River has offered its vision for solving the problem.
If weeds can grow on the field, this does not mean that you need to treat the entire surface with a herbicide. Massive processing is always a high consumption of the active substance and is needed only with significant contamination of the field with weeds. If there are not many of them, then the suuch approach is a simple waste of herbicide. Consumption will be 10% of normal numbers, if the territory is treated using the Blue River Technology See and Spray system, at least as one of its developers, Ben Chostner, says.
For the operation of this system, it was necessary to rethink the structure of all the main components of spraying, the operation of the pumps and the principle of mixing the herbicide. The main advantage of the Blue River is the introduction of plant protection products up to a centimeter accuracy. This is what allows to reduce the consumption of working fluid and money.
The disadvantages of this approach include a low field processing speed of 2-3 km / h. All working bodies are located inside the hooded design. This is necessary to reduce the effect of wind on the processing result. Artificial light sources are used to illuminate the field, so work can be done around the clock.
Blue River See and Spray has already been tested in fields with cotton and lettuce. In 2017, Blue River Technology became a subsidiary of JOHN DEERE.
