Fendt is advocating trailed sprayers as a sensible investment for farmers looking to buy in new technology, but without the huge commitment of a self-propelled machine.

“Our new range of Rogator trailed sprayers give farmers the technology, stability and capacity of a self-propelled machine whilst making best use of existing tractor capacity,” argued James Wallington, the sprayer specialist at Fendt.

Trailed sprayers require a lower initial investment and cost less to service and maintain, he argued. “The need to have a self-propelled sprayer to benefit from the latest technology is dissipating,” added Mr Wallington. “Our new range of trailed sprayers are all based on the self-propelled Rogator 600 which has been one of the best in the market for years.”

These are based on the same single beam chassis and benefit from the same spray pack,which includes individual nozzle and electric plumbing control.

The range has 4400, 5500 and 6600 litre capacities, and each can be specified with a wide variety of boom sizes, up to 36m, with individual nozzle control and Optisonic height control. “The new booms use four ultrasonic sensors that are mounted on each boom rather than the original three or five sensor arrangement. This helps provide a better average height across the whole boom, especially in challenging crop conditions, or over tricky terrain,” said Mr Wallington.

The sensor arrangement and construction of the boom have been designed to reduce drift by maintaining a constant height for accuracy and efficiency. “The set-up has a wide variety of options which offer the operator solutions to different field characteristics. It gives the operator control to adapt to typical changes in terrain such as heavily rutted tramlines or significant variations in gradient,” he explained.

They are also Isobus compatible to reduce the likelihood of additional costly technology investment. The individual nozzle control, electric plumbing, new double wishbone suspension set up and stability control are all at the forefront of spraying technology now and will still be competitive in five years’ time, added Mr Wallington.

“If you have a tractor with time available to pull a trailed sprayer, these machines represent a cost-effective way to use high end spraying technology without having to tie money up in a self-propelled machine,” he concluded.