Who hasn't experienced this yet: In uneven terrain, the boom of the field sprayer will often swing violently up and down during the application of crop protection products and fertilisers. This leads to uneven distances between boom and ground that result in suboptimal boom heights and affect the precision of the application. If you are looking for a remedy, the Norac UC7 system from Topcon is an effective solution. It can be retrofitted to field sprayers of many brands.  

How it works

Retrofitting eliminates the need for constant manual height corrections and significantly increases the speed and impact of the application. Three – or optionally five – ultrasonic sensors on the boom arms ensure that the perfect height is automatically maintained. In addition, integrated gyros inside the ultrasonic sensor detect the rotation angle and speed of the boom. Depending on the system's configuration, a central computer acts as a control module for the possible functions such as raising, lowering, turning or angling the boom wings. Either the height of the crop, the ground level or – in hybrid mode – an average of crop height and ground level can be used as reference point for the measurement of the sensors. The system is either operated via a separate ISOBUS control unit or via a universal terminal on the vehicle.

Benefits

The many advantages are obvious: instead of having to look around frequently to check the boom height, the Norac system allows the driver to relax and concentrate on spreading and safety. At the same time, the application is optimised thanks to the optimal distance to the target area – and this is also true in darkness and poor visibility. This reduces drift and increases the effect of the applied crop protection products.

Learn more about Topcon solutions for boom height control

 

When the time came for Ed Knight, Farm Manager at Hindon Farms Ltd. in Wiltshire to replace his 36-metre trailed sprayer, he knew he’d need the very best boom levelling system to enable him to spray accurately and efficiently across the farm’s undulating and sloping 545 hectares of chalk downland. By installing an aftermarket system, his second-hand Chafer Sentry is now more than capable of tracking the farm’s contours with absolute precision.

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