Topcon Introduces CropSpec System
January 7, 2010 Topcon Precision Agriculture has released the CropSpec, a real-time integrated plant nutrient monitoring and application system for agricultural equipment.
Topcon has focused on developing an array of integrated positioning and automation technologies to meet the constantly changing demands facing agriculture.
The company produces a range of controllers and monitors covering equipment guidance, steering assistance, spraying, seeding, planting, fertilizing and spreading, incorporating auto-section and variable-rate control. Topcon provides the technological tools to reduce input cost and the need to ensure improved environmental control.
Topcon engineers designed CropSpec as a powerful crop canopy sensor system utilizing two sensors that allow an operator to monitor plant conditions and apply fertilizer and other inputs only as needed.
“This system will help revolutionize and simplify variable-rate applications,” said Michael Gomes, director of agriculture business development. CropSpec sensors measure spectral reflectance using light from pulsing laser diodes focused on the plants. The reading can be correlated to measure chlorophyll content, which is closely linked to nitrogen in the plants. Scanning the crop creates a map to indicate relative canopy vigor.
The information can then be analyzed to determine crop areas that need treatment, construct prescription maps for later application, or immediately provide variable-rate applications in real time.
CropSpec allows farmers to perform real-time analysis of crop needs and meet those deficiencies immediately as they are traveling through the field. The sensors measure nitrogen levels and Topcon’s X20 controller executes that prescription immediately, controlling the output of fertilizer in one pass.
“This provides the benefits of a variable-rate application in a simple one-step process, reducing the complications … and can reduce both cost and waste associated with blanket fertilizer applications. The return on investment of CropSpec is extraordinary,” Gomes said. “It is possible to pay for the technology in a single growing season from the savings in fertilizer costs, coupled with the benefits of providing the correct amounts of fertilizer where it is needed most.”
CropSpec enables farm operators to work day or night. The compact system mounts on the tractor roof out of harm’s way, eliminating the need for a boom mounted sensor, reducing the potential for sensor damage as the machine is operating within the field.
For more information, see: www.topconpa.com
Editor’s note: Some information was provided by Topcon Precision Agriculture.
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