AMAZONE has picked up a silver medal at the Agritechnica 2022 Innovation Awards for its new DirectInject.
The DLG Innovation Commission (German Agricultural Society) recently announced the winners of the Agritechnica 2022 Innovation Awards.
DirectInject enables the “fast, flexible and needs-based” metered addition of a pesticide during application.
DirectInject
The company claims that this technology saves working time and labour costs, machinery costs and plant protection agents.
In a statement, AMAZONE said the demands on farmers with regard to plant protection go “hand-in-hand” with the constantly increasing technology.
It stated that flexibility in the selection of plant protection agents in the field becomes “increasingly important”.
From a plant establishment perspective, the needs-based application of specific products and active ingredients only in part sections, or individual fields, is a “frequent” response.
There are also restrictions relating to environmentally-sensitive fields and bodies of water that the farmer must consider when selecting plant protection agents.
These requirements concerning flexibility in plant protection are in “stark” contrast to the structural development towards larger sprayers for higher work rates and more economic use.
The DirectInject system has enabled AMAZONE to offer a system of direct injection of plant protection agents.
It claims that it solves, “for the first time”, the conflicting goals described above.
You can stop or start the injection of plant protection agents during application as you require.
AMAZONE claims that DirectInject’s special feature compared to conventional systems is the “fast” response time of the injection process.
It also cited its complete integration into the spray liquid circuit and operation of the sprayer as another unique point.
With DirectInject, it is possible to respond individually to crops’ needs in the field.
In turn, the company stated this reduces the usage of plant protection agents. It also reduces the number of additional passes with the sprayer.
“This saves time, money and protects the environment,” the company outlined.
Features
DirectInject consists of an additional 50 l tank with its own metering system.
This is integrated into the storage compartment of the UX 01 Super on the machine’s right-hand side.
“This means that the tank is easily accessible from the ground and can be filled safely,” it said.
Integrating these components into the storage compartment also provides optimum equipment protection.
The company said this technology’s “major” advantage is working with undiluted plant protection agents.
A mechanical agitator ensures that even plant protection agents which tend to separate remain homogeneous.
How does it work?
Suppose the sprayer operator notices, for instance, a prevalence of unwanted weeds that need to be controlled in a specific part-area.
In that case, they can activate the DirectInject system from the cab at the touch of a button.
The supplementary product from the DirectInject tank is then added to the spray agent from the spray agent tank.
Compared to conventional systems, the optimised reaction time is achieved by a twin-line system.
Pre-mixed spray agent from the spray agent tank and the plant protection agent from the DirectInject tank are held in different feed pipes on the boom.
When the direct feed system is activated, the mixture is applied through the nozzle bodies and nozzles via several injection points in the boom.
These short routes for the spray agent to get directly to the boom result in short reaction times in the field.
The DUS pro-high-pressure recirculation system enables the spray agent in the spray line to circulate with the pre-set spray pressure at all times, even when the nozzles are closed.
Circulation is stopped when the direct feed system is activated.
This means the spray agent from the spray agent tank is not mixed with the product from the DirectInject tank.
Residual spray volumes and cleaning
Since DirectInject can work with undiluted plant protection agents, you can return unused quantities to the product’s original container after application.
As a result, the amount of plant protection agent actually needed does not have to be known before application, nor do mixed residual amounts have to be dealt with afterwards.
You can clean the entire system automatically and remotely from the tractor cab after application.
All the elements are integrated into the Comfort-Pack on the sprayer for this purpose.
Benefits
Farmers who use DirectInject report that they can now react much more flexibly to individual fields and part areas with respect to plant protection.
Where differentiated, immediate applications were otherwise not possible. They can now react to the situation in the field within that one pass.
Results:
- Saving times;
- Reduced use of plant protection agents;
- Optimum crops.
You can use the DirectInject direct feed system with the UX 01 single-axle crop protection sprayers with standard ISOBUS communication and AmaSwitch or AmaSelect single nozzle control with DUS pro-high-pressure recirculation system.
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