Garford Farm Machinery Ltd will be exhibiting at Agritechnica – we will be pleased to see customers, old and new, at the exhibition;
Stand 14-D27, Hall 14, Messegelaende, 30521 Hannover, Germany.
Garford Farm Machinery Ltd manufacture the world leading range of Robocrop robotic weeding implements. Robocrop Guided Hoes use video cameras to view the crop ahead of the implement and the computer then analyses the images to find the location of the crop.
Robocrop Inter-row is the traditional model for high speed hoeing between the crop rows. Robocrop Precision Guided High Speed Hoes can travel at speeds of 12kph or even higher and maintain high accuracy often better than 10mm. Garford Hoes have been specially designed to facilitate high speed operation with hydraulic pressure rams on the units to improve penetration and stop bounce which could otherwise be a problem.
Inter-row cultivation is well known in traditional row crops however Garford also have experience going back many years in all crops including broad acre cereal crops. With Robocrop in control inter-row work on narrow rows can be very successful. A broad range of cutting blades and soil engaging equipment is available including the specially developed “Slash Blade” which is aligned with its point closest to the crop row in order to drag all weeds away from the row ensuring better weed kill. The slash blade facilitates good crop foliage clearance therefore can be the optimal tool right through the season. Hoe models are available up to 12mtr working width.
Robocrop InRow is the revolutionary robotic weeder developed for total weeding in transplanted vegetable crops. Utilising the same camera system the computer locates the individual plants and uses this information to control a special weeding rotor which loops in and out between the plants. The speed of the rotor is adjusted 30 times per second in order to allow for irregularities in plant spacing. Plant zones down to 6cm diameter mean that normally Robocrop InRow is the only weeding necessary. With chemical weed control methods having been eroded away in recent years Robocrop InRow offers a cost effective alternative for the future. Robocrop InRow is also the solution from a crop hygiene point of view, as one machine can replace the need for up to 30 or more manual labourers working in a field.
Garford also offer other weed control solutions such as the Weedfoil height dependant weedwiper and Hooded Sprayers for inter-row weed control without soil disturbance.
