AmaSelect Spot with DroneLink

Part-area, site-specific weed treatment based on highly accurate drone photographs

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To reduce the usage of crop protection agents, AMAZONE offers AmaSelect Spot, a nozzle control system that allows part-area, site-specific weed treatment based on highly accurate drone photographs. The DroneLink software takes into account the special properties of the AmaSelect system for accurate off-line spot application. The compilation of high-resolution maps of weed distribution in fields is the core skill of DroneWerkers in the Netherlands.

In the first step, the area to be treated is flown over by a drone equipped with a special RGB camera suitable for mapping. After the landing the photos are geotagged (position calibration) and then, subsequently, the individual pictures are merged into a total map. In the next step then the card analysis is done with the

DroneLink software. Physical crop plants as oppose to individual weeds are discriminated between using artificial intelligence. Clusters of weeds in areas of uniform crop can be detected. The DroneLink software takes into account the specific properties of the AmaSelect Spot nozzle control. The special advantages of this system are the 25 cm nozzle spacing and the 50 cm part-width section control. The use of special SpotFan 40-03 nozzles, having a spraying angle of just 40° and at a height of approximately 50 cm above the target surface, facilitates almost overlap- free and completely accurate, small-area spot application with 100 % plant protection agent concentration. Resistance problems in marginal areas due to under-dosing are thus avoided. Depending on the weed cover, up to 80 % of the plant protection agent can be saved.

The treatment areas determined are extended by a 1 m wide safety zone to ensure reliable application. This ensures reliable spot treatment under all conditions. If very heavily infested areas are involved, it is always possible to switch to full-width application with standard nozzles at the push of a button. The option of providing detailed images of the weed cover and safe implementation of spot application maps with a standard AMAZONE crop protection sprayer allows many users immediately to save significant amounts of plant protection agent.