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The AmaSelect electronic nozzle selection system.
AMAZONE has raised the bar in the area of partial width spraying technology.
AMAZONE has added new band spraying and turning functions to its AmaSelect electronic nozzle selection system, available on all AMAZONE UX trailed sprayers and Pantera self-propelled sprayers.
AmaSelect is an electronic multi-nozzle control system that automatically selects and activates the best nozzle according to the desired application rate and forward speed. Positioned at 50 cm intervals along the boom, each ‘pod’ comprises four individually controlled nozzles.
In use, the operator enters the optimum pressure range for each nozzle into the ISOBUS operator terminal. Once the optimum pressure range of a nozzle is reached, AmaSelect automatically switches over to a smaller or bigger nozzle or adds a second nozzle to the spray circuit. Standard fittings include LED lighting on each nozzle and the DUS Pro high- pressure recirculation system. An optional GPS-Switch function switches off individual nozzles in 50 cm part-width sections as the unit approaches headlines and other obstacles. Alternatively, an optional intermediate kit enables nozzles to be fitted at 25 cm intervals for high volume application or if target heights are less than 50 cm.
CLAAS Harvest Centre product manager for AMAZONE, Steve Gorman, says the technology can significantly reduce spraying costs. “By itself, the automatic control of individual nozzles can reduce chemical costs by up to five percent ten percent when used in combination with AMAZONE GPS-Switch section control.”
The new band spraying function enables any sprayer equipped with AmaSelect to be converted from whole-boom application to row-specific band spraying at the press of a button.
In operation, the AmaSelect Row function utilises special SpotFan 40-03 nozzles that deliver 100% of the crop protection agent across a 50 cm wide spray cone, with a 40-degree spray angle eliminating overlap. An extension kit is also offered to shift the positions of two nozzles in each pod to cater for 25 cm and 75 cm row spacing.
Also new is the AmaSelect CurveControl function, which ensures constant application across the boom width during turning. “Increasing boom widths means over-application on the inside of the turn and under-application on the outside is becoming a major issue,” says Gorman.
“Over-application may damage crops, while under-application may result in incomplete weed, insect or disease control. Either way, both can lead to loss of yield, which is counterproductive to spraying in the first instance.”
CurveControl uses sensors to determine the curve radius, from where the AmaSelect system then automatically determines the correct nozzle and the application rate for each section across the boom.
With an extensive cultivation portfolio, Amazone entered a new era in tillage 25 years ago when it launched the newly developed Catros in 2001, an innovative design with a high performance, compact, shallow stubble cultivator, initially sold as a three-point linkage mounted implement.
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Despite near universal optimism in the rural sector, a panel of New Zealand’s leading food and agri minds caution that the sector must be intentional about its future path.
The panel say this is needed if the sector is to successfully
navigate the social, economic, environmental and technological forces impacting its operating environment.
Their views form part of the latest version of Rabobank’s annual white paper ‘Succession 2050 – gearing up for New Zealand’s food and agri future’.
The white paper focuses on the topic of succession at an industry level.
In addition to Rabobank’s own insights, the paper brings together a selection of 14 leading New Zealand and international food and agri experts – including trade negotiators, economists, systems analysts, scientists and technologists along with sectoral experts in sustainability, the future of fibre and Māori enterprise – to share their perspectives on what the New Zealand food and agri sector could look like in 2050 and what needs to change to achieve that vision.
Launching the new paper at the Primary Industries New Zealand Summit in Auckland today, Rabobank New Zealand CEO Todd Charteris said the experts who contributed to the white paper had identified plenty of reasons for New Zealand to be confident about its food and agri future.
“To name just a few, we’re a major food producer in a food-hungry world that’s on track to need 56% more food by 2050,” he said.
“Our food and fibre exports are also growing strongly and are forecast to hit $64.3 billion for the year to June 2026, while our government has signalled its plans to help double overall New Zealand exports by 2034.”
While there were many reasons for optimism, Charteris said, the expert contributors had also noted a host of changes taking place across the global food and agri operating environment that would need to be navigated for the industry to achieve ongoing success in the decades ahead.
“A number of key changes shaping the future of the sector came through in the perspectives of the expert contributors,” he said.
“There are the well-canvased issues of increasing global food insecurity, the challenging trade environment driven by geopolitical tensions, and the need to produce food within planetary limits."
“However, the experts also raised emerging trends, including what we’ve called ‘Identity eating’ – which is the growing way of signalling who you are as a person through what you eat – and is leading to higher demand for ethical and health-conscious foods.
“Another key trend identified out to 2050 was ‘Exponential everything’, which covers the transformation of the sector through science and technology.”
Rather than let these changes wash over it like a tsunami, Mr Charteris said, the broadly held view among the expert contributors was that New Zealand’s agriculture sector would need to lean in and proactively shape the changes occurring around it.
“We heard this message in many different ways; whether it was influencing global trade policy, embracing technology, capitalising on sustainability, training up for the future, defending our advantage in dairy or kiwifruit, growing Māori enterprise or more deliberately utilising all the wealth in our big blue backyard,” he said.
Charteris said the white paper contributors had identified 23 changes they would like to see in New Zealand between now and 2050 that will help set up the sector for success.
“Essentially, they boil down into five buckets with four to five ‘work ons’ in each bucket,” he said.
“At the centre, we need a change model that starts from the customer perspective and works outward from that, feeding into more purposeful decisions about land use and production systems.
“Then once we are clear on what customers are asking for and where we want to play, we need to stack talent and technology.
“Between these items we have the elements of a 2050 growth engine.”
What’s exciting, Charteris said, is that New Zealand has the geography, the capacity, the ideas, and the time, to make something outstanding of its future.
“My wish is that our experts’ thinking will inspire others to join me in pushing for a more deliberative strategic future for New Zealand,” he said.
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