This year’s CropTec event will give growers and sprayer operators an insight into some of the latest advances in application technology, along with advice and tips to get the best out of every treatment.

Throughout the event AT The East of England Showground, Peterborough, on November 27 and 28, presentations in the Spraying Technology Hub, on the Syngenta stand will address challenging topics, including how to optimise balancing efficacy, efficiency and environmental impact.

Syngenta application specialist, James Thomas, highlighted new technologies have delivered a step change in targeting sprays more accurately, to achieve more effective results.

“Having a spray boom working on the Syngenta stand at CropTec, visitors will see in practice how the new developments can bring significant benefits for their application, as well as discuss results of in-field agronomy trials to understand the implications on a farm scale.”

The Spraying Technology Hub will also focus on research to extend the utilisation of 90% drift reduction nozzle technology beyond pre-emergence applications, with exciting results for cereal fungicides and potato applications.

Furthermore, looking at future technology for application – including advice apps and sprayer innovation such as pulse width modulation (PWM), for example – the Application Hub ensures growers and operators can keep up with the latest developments.

Sprayer operators can also use CropTec as a chance to enter the Farm Sprayer Operator of the Year 2020 awards.

What’s on show at the sprayer demo area:

Agrifac’s 36m Condor IV self-propelled sprayer will be shown with its 5000-litre tank, featuring its innovations StrictHeightPlus and StrictSprayPlus technologies, which are aimed at enabling operators to apply the correct amount of spray to each individual plant.

Combined with the stability of the Agrifac StabiloPlus chassis these are said to work accurately, even on the steepest of slopes.

Chafer’s Interceptor is a ‘medium-sized’ self-propelled machine powered by a 240hp Deutz engine coupled to the advanced Bosch Rexroth CVT transmission.

When on the road, this combination uses the minimum revolutions to achieve the chosen forward speed, keeping fuel use low and engine noise down.

A spacious, comfortable cab sits on top of a chassis and spray pack layout with a stable, low centre of gravity, plus better accessibility for operation and servicing.

Fendt’s Rogator 600 is a self-propelled machine which has a low centre of gravity and can come with a choice of 3800, 5000 or 6000 litre tanks with s 500 litre clean water tanks for cleaning etc.

Its induction hopper houses the OptiFlow control centre and there’s 1.2m of ground clearance to get maximum plant coverage. Fendt’s spacious category 4 certified VisionCab gives all-round vision and automatic climate control.

Hardi’s new Commander 5500 36m Twin-Force is the top of the range model with tank capacities of 3300, 4500, 5500 and 7000 litres.

The award-winning Twin-Force boom can reduce chemical use, increase your capacity, and control drift while improving on time coverage.

Horsch’s Leeb 5 LT trailed sprayer will be shown with a 5000-litre plastic tank and 36m boom, with the BoomControl Pro system fitted.

This is an advanced boom designed to keep the boom less than 40cm from the crop at up 30kph even over hilly terrain, thus reducing drift and increasing crop penetration. The top CCS Pro model features an automatic internal continuous cleaning system and a 500-litre freshwater tank.

Its innovative ISOBUS operating system is an in-house development that simplifies adjustment, operation and control of the machine. Nozzle switching can be easily controlled with combinations of 1-0 (one nozzle per 50cm) to 4-2 (four nozzles per 50cm, plus two nozzles per 25cm).

Househam’s Harrier is its latest generation of self-propelled sprayer has been created in response to direct customer feedback which gives it better performance, efficiency and comfort first.

Knight’s 1800 series self-propelled sprayer is fitted with a semi air suspended Claas cab, with digital climate control and category 4 filtration.

It uses a six-cylinder Perkins engines of 174hp (Tier 4 emission compliant) or 225hp (Tier 5) both of which are complemented by a Poclain hydrostatic transmission. There’s also all round active air suspension as standard and the electronic steering is two or four-wheel, with automatic rear hillside compensation.

Tank capacities are 3500 and 4000 litres and booms are available from 24m to 40m. Fluid Control Pro simplifies all operations and GPS auto section control and auto steering options are available to assist the operator.

Lite-Trac’s LT350 tool carrier-based sprayer comes with the latest Tier 4 Volvo 7.7 litre diesel engine of 320hp, with high torque characteristics at low rpm.

A upgraded transmission, higher ground clearance and a new cab operating system should improve driver comfort and ease of operation

Sands’s Horizon 5500 will be shown demonstrating the 36m variable geometry and negative boom technologies. This will also be showing off a new electronic control system, with either be two-inch or three-inch filling, with functions such as auto-filling, spraying, washing out, all at the touch of a button either in the cab or outside beside the mixing hopper.

Fuel filters are now remotely mounted on the side for easier access and cleaner changeover.

Vicon’s iXtrack T trailed sprayer series is of short, low and compact design in combination with intelligent electronics and ease of use.

It has tank sizes of 2600 (T3 model), 4600 (T4 model) and 6400 litres (T6 model) and there’s a 32° steering angle and 3.6m turning radius, which makes it highly manoeuvrable.

They have a suspended parallelogram ‘soft boom’ with balancing and limited vertical movement to minimise spray height deviations. It is also 100% ISOBUS compatible for easy plug and play with the IsoMatch Tellus GO/PRO or any other AEF certified terminal.