Page 21 - AWA Vol.42-No7 issue

CROP PROTECTION

Croptimal launches entry-level version of the Croptiscan

selection robot for smaller seed potato growers
Croptimal, builder of the
award-winning Croptiscan 9000 se-
lection robot, is launching the trac-
tor-mounted version of the Cropti-
scan. The new machine is a direct
response to a clear demand from the
market: smaller growers also want
to select their seed potatoes using
smart technology. The new 3-metre
tractor-mounted version has a cam-
era above each row which scans the
crop and detects diseases such as
PVY and leaf roll before they are vis-
ible to the naked eye.

Earlier detection

The Croptiscan detects diseased
plants earlier in the season than is
possible with manual selection. The
sooner an infection is found, the low- scan machines, supplemented with and scale that suit smaller business-
er the chance that it will spread fur- data from twelve separate camera es, with a clear growth path as the
ther across the field, and the greater arms using the same camera. With business or disease pressure in-
the chance that the seed potato field a working width of 3 metres and a creases.”
will still meet the required quality driving speed of 5 kilometres per Payback period
standards. hour, the machine scans approx-
The risk of downgrading can quick-
Fewer selectors, greater risk imately 1.5 hectares per hour, or ly outweigh the investment: with an
around 12 hectares per working day.
Experienced selectors who man- Thanks to its own shielding against average loss of several hundred eu-
ually inspect seed potato fields are ambient light, the Croptiscan works ros per hectare per season, the trac-
becoming increasingly difficult to tor-mounted version pays for itself
just as reliably in bright sunlight as it
find. Without timely and accurate within three to five years for many
does in the dark, enabling use both
selection, growers run the risk of day and night. Price: EUR 95,000, growers.
downgrading or even rejection of with EUR 4,000 per year for service, Proven in practice
their seed potato field, with signif- support and algorithm updates.
icant financial consequences. The The underlying technology of the
tractor-mounted Croptiscan 3000 Growers who start with the trac- tractor-mounted version is the same
offers growers an accessible way tor-mounted version can later up- as that of the Croptiscan 9000, win-
to reduce that risk, without immedi- grade to a fully self-driving version: ner of the PotatoEurope Innovation
ately investing in a fully self-driving the 3-metre 4-row, the 6-metre 8-row Award and now operational at sev-
machine. or the 9-metre 12-row Croptiscan. eral growers in the Netherlands. The
recognition algorithms have been
Entry-level model with a growth “We developed the tractor-mount- trained on validated practical data
path ed version because selection quality from seven machines operating in
is just as important for smaller grow-
The tractor-mounted version is at- the field, supplemented with image
ers as it is for the largest companies
tached to the tractor and is equipped material from twelve separate cam-
in the market. Disease pressure does
with the same camera and mark- era arms. Part of that data comes
ing technology as the self-driving not look at hectares,” said Jeroen from seed potatoes photographed
models. The recognition algorithms Wolters, co-founder of Croptimal. even before emergence, further in-
“With this model, we bring the same
have been trained on practical data creasing the accuracy of early dis-
from seven operational Cropti- proven technology to a price point ease detection. Circle 20 on enquiry card

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