Variable rate application only becomes valuable when field information is converted directly into the correct application rate. With WEED-IT, an agricultural sprayer can work with prescription maps, live sensor data, individual plant detection or a combination of these. One system therefore controls not only where a product is applied, but also how much is applied.
This makes WEED-IT more than a spot spraying system. Depending on the configuration, it supports prescription-map-controlled Variable Rate Application (VRA), Live VRA, spot spraying, cover spraying and dual spraying. For each application, the user selects the appropriate strategy while using the same spray boom, individual nozzle control and WEED-IT interface.
With traditional cover spraying, the entire field often receives the same average application rate. This is straightforward, but it takes limited account of differences in crop condition, soil type, organic matter, moisture, biomass and weed pressure.
With map-based VRA, external software converts these differences in advance into a target application rate for each zone. The agricultural sprayer then executes that instruction; the sprayer does not make the agronomic decision itself. With Live VRA, this translation takes place while driving: sensors measure the current situation and the control system adjusts the application rate immediately. WEED-IT can execute both routes and pass the instruction down to nozzle level.
Variable rate application therefore does not automatically mean spraying as little as possible. It means matching the application rate more closely to what a location, row or plant needs, within the authorised use of the product. Spot spraying adds a second question: does this location need to be treated at all?
In many conventional spraying systems, a changing application rate is controlled by raising or lowering the pressure. This can also change the droplet spectrum. Section control reduces overlap, but often switches several nozzles at the same time.
WEED-IT’s PWM technology controls each spray nozzle individually. The valves open and close very rapidly while the pressure remains stable. This allows the application rate to change without the droplet size changing continuously as well. Speed and turn compensation also help limit under- and overapplication across the spray boom.
This individual nozzle control is the technical basis for every WEED-IT strategy: fixed or variable cover spraying, prescription-map VRA, Live VRA, spot spraying and dual spraying.
With prescription-map-controlled VRA, the required application rate for each location is determined before spraying. The map can be created from:
Satellite platforms such as EOS Data Analytics reveal larger patterns in crop development. A drone can collect data at a chosen moment and at a finer resolution, which can be practical under changeable weather conditions. Soil scanners, such as the Veris scanner in the Future Farming example, can support prescription maps for the variable application of soil-applied herbicides.
The data only add value when the sprayer executes them accurately. With WEED-IT DASH, prescription maps can be executed with WEED-IT AQRATE and WEED-IT QUADRO at a resolution down to 25 x 25 centimetres; coarser resolutions are also possible. The software determines the required application rate and WEED-IT executes it per nozzle. A prescription map can also determine where to spray and where not to spray, allowing map-based spot application and VRA to be combined.
With Live VRA, the agricultural sprayer responds to the situation measured in the field at that moment. One market example is Raven Augmenta, which uses a multispectral camera on the cab to assess a wide area in front of the machine. WEED-IT QUADRO uses sensors across the spray boom and combines live fluorescence measurements with Crop Density Data.
Based on these current data, the application rate can be adjusted per nozzle in real time. This is useful for applications in which the amount of green biomass directly indicates the required application rate, such as liquid nitrogen, growth regulation or certain crop protection applications. Measurement and application take place in the same pass, so a pre-generated prescription map is not required.
With spot spraying, detection determines where spraying takes place. The fluorescence sensors detect chlorophyll in living green plant material and activate only the nozzle above the target. In green-on-brown applications, such as stubble, fallow land or pre-emergence, each green plant can be treated precisely.
The sprayer remains off where no target is present. Depending on weed pressure and the application, savings on crop protection products can reach up to 95%. Scientific literature describes WEED-IT as a localized spraying system. The detection identifies living green material, so the selected spray mode, product and timing must always suit the cropping situation.
With cover spraying, a WEED-IT-equipped sprayer also works as a full-field sprayer. All nozzles can apply a fixed or variable rate with individual PWM control and speed and turn compensation. This allows herbicides, fungicides and insecticides, among other products, to be applied across the full width.
With dual spraying, WEED-IT combines a low base application rate across the full width with a higher application rate on a live-detected target. This takes place in one pass and with one spray line. The user therefore does not need to choose between cover and targeted spraying: both strategies can come together in the same application.
The WEED-IT functions do not operate in isolation. VRA determines how much product is required within the selected strategy. A prescription map, live detection or row recognition determines where that application rate is delivered. The combination is executed down to nozzle level.
Comparing VRA and spot spraying as two competing technologies therefore does not do WEED-IT justice. The added value lies in their combination. For each task, the same sprayer can work with a prescription map, live field data, targeted detection, cover spraying or a combination of these.
WEED-IT AQRATE is a logical starting point for growers and contractors who want individual PWM nozzle control, prescription maps, cover spraying and greater control over the application rate. The system has a modular design. With a nozzle spacing of 25 centimetres, it can later be expanded relatively easily with QUADRO sensors.
WEED-IT QUADRO adds fluorescence detection, crop density maps, Live VRA and spot functions. WEED-IT DASH forms the operating and data layer for prescription maps, work orders, real-time information and reporting. AQRATE and QUADRO can be combined on the same sprayer, allowing the investment to grow with the applications used by the business.
WEED-IT can be fitted to many existing self-propelled, mounted and trailed agricultural sprayers. The right configuration depends on the spray boom, nozzle spacing, required applications, available data sources and whether the business wants to expand immediately or in stages.
The benefit is not limited to potential savings on crop protection products. Field information is translated directly into action on the spray boom. The application rate can change per nozzle while pressure and droplet size remain stable. Overlap and dosing errors in turns are reduced, and the same agricultural sprayer can work both across the full width and site-specifically.
With spot spraying, less unnecessary application often also means fewer refills, less transport of spray liquid and greater work capacity. With VRA, the application rate can better match differences in soil or crop conditions, reducing the risk of over- or undertreatment. The actual benefit still depends on the application, weed pressure, map quality, configured decision rules and machine configuration.
Yes. With WEED-IT DASH, AQRATE and QUADRO can execute prescription maps at a resolution down to 25 x 25 centimetres. The prescription map contains the required application rate or treatment location, and WEED-IT executes that instruction per nozzle. Prescription maps can also be combined with site-specific applications.
Yes. VRA determines how much product is required at a location; detection or a prescription map determines where spraying takes place. With QUADRO, the application rate can vary live per nozzle based on crop density data. Dual spraying is a concrete example in which a full-width base application rate is combined with a higher rate on a detected target.
Yes. In cover mode, a WEED-IT-equipped sprayer can apply a fixed or variable rate across the full width. Individual PWM nozzle control, speed compensation and turn compensation remain active. The same sprayer can therefore be used for herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.
Variable rate application with an agricultural sprayer is not a stand-alone technology, but a chain of field information, decision rules and accurate nozzle control. WEED-IT brings these elements together. Prescription maps, Live VRA, spot spraying, cover spraying and dual spraying are not competing options, but building blocks within one precision spraying platform.
A business can start with PWM and prescription maps and later expand with fluorescence detection, Live VRA and combined spray modes. This creates one scalable system that determines not only where spraying takes place, but also how much product is required there.
