Kverneland has developed a series of advanced application controls for its fertiliser spreaders and seed drills, to boost accuracy and efficiency within precision farming systems.
Called GEOCONTROL and developed for use with the sophisticated IsoMatch Tellus dual screen terminal, this new suite of intelligent machine control systems allows a greater level of task control including automatic on/off and section control for headland management with sprayers, spreaders and seed drills.
“GEOCONTROL allows us to offer a higher level of intelligent machine control solutions for those seeking the ultimate levels of accuracy from precision farming systems,” explains Graham Owen, product manager for the Kverneland brand. “GEOCONTROL creates section control to allow finer management and greater control of seeding and fertiliser spreading functions.”
Perhaps more importantly, GEOCONTROL software within IsoMatch Tellus has enabled the development of additional machine-specific controllers – GEOSPREAD and GEOSEED - to simultaneously manage working widths and variable rate applications with fertiliser spreading and seeding operations.
With GEOSPREAD, for example, the Kverneland TL Exacta weigh cell fertiliser spreader can automatically adjust its spread pattern, working width and application rate while on the move, to prevent under-dosing or over-dosing when spreading into wedge-shaped or curved boundaries.
It does this by automatically varying the discharge point of fertiliser on each spinning disc to suit application requirements, as defined by GPS location. Cleverly, the system allows the spreader’s working width to be reduced in 2m sections and can individually manage each disc’s output without influencing the coefficient of variation.
“With GEOSPREAD, our weigh-cell twin-disc fertiliser spreaders now have the most intelligent and most advanced GPS-managed spreading systems on the market,” says Mr Owen. “Using this level of machine control, over-lapping with expensive fertilisers is a thing of the past.”
GEOSEED offers an equally impressive level of seeder control with our maize and sugar beet drills, when equipped with electric seed metering drive. GEOSEED also allows down-the-row seed spacings to be managed on an individual basis, eliminating overlaps and losses at headlands, as defined by GPS location.
The potential for cost savings is impressive. The greater efficiency from using GEOSPREAD allows the Kverneland TL Exacta spreaders to deliver a saving from 2-10% from reducing overlaps. And with precision drills, GEOSEED offers a 5-10% saving on seed.
