‘DriftRadar‘, an integrated drift management concept from Bayer, was awarded the “DLG-Agrifuture Concept Winner” by the DLG (German Agricultural Society) at this year’s Agritechnica event. The prize, awarded for the first time this year, was for ‘pioneering agricultural engineering work and vision for the future’.
According to a Bayer news release, the integrated drift management concept DriftRadar is based on a digital recording of buffer zones and distance regulations indicated on the labels of crop protection products. A GPS sensor on the sprayer determines the position of the sprayer in the field while the crop protection product is being applied, and a wind sensor determines the wind direction every 10th of a second.
Based on these two parameters, the position of the sprayer and wind direction, the nozzles are switched from standard nozzles to drift-reducing nozzles during the spraying process. Or completely closed in order to automatically maintain the required distances, for example as it relates to surface water, and thus avoid drifting onto the water.
With the new system, automatic field-specific drift control is possible, according to Bayer.
“Digitalization and the associated technical solutions are at the heart of environmentally friendly crop protection measures at Bayer. They are also part of the Bayer sustainability strategy. We are proud and very pleased that one of our developments has now been awarded this valuable prize and that our efforts for future-oriented, sustainable agriculture have been recognised,” said Peter R. Müller, Managing Director of Bayer CropScience Deutschland GmbH, in response to the award.
The award ceremony took place online on February 15, 2022 during the digital Agritechnica event.
