Variable Rate Application Equipment – Systems and Data Transfer

Keywords: Fertiliser spreading, site specific, variable rate, computer control.

Most arable areas are heterogeneous in terms of soil type, nutrient reserve, water supply, etc. Because a position can now be determined with the aid of satellite location – Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) – the possibility of reacting to specific local needs is now available, irrespective of traditional field boundaries. Techniques for the within-field variation of the application rates for sowing, fertilising and pest control are available.

An optimal management of crop production requirements is only possible when using accurate implements which can be set up correctly. In the main, the technical requirements of such machinery are finalised. At present, the concepts of farm data management and the transposition of crop production knowledge into computerised systems are being discussed with considerable intensity.

The AOS Technique in conjunction with the spatial location in the field of husbandry and application implements have led to a new quality of operation.

To achieve this, however, a considerable band-width of supporting technology has to be involved which requires careful tuning.

Some manufacturers in Europe have proven this and brought to the market assembly-line mature implements or options.

At present implement technology offers more potential than the controlling technology can make use of, and current development is constrained by high cost at little turnover.

However with an increasingly improved management of the systems and falling purchasing costs this technology will gain a firm place in the market.

Volker Schanzenbach, Amazonen-Werke, H Dreyer GmbH & Co KG, Postfach 51, D-49202 Hasbergen-Gaste, Germany.

28 pages, 5 figures, 11 refs.