Smart sensors for the use of agrochemicals

Widespread use of crop protection products – or the related abuse and waste – is one of the biggest problems of the Italian agricultural industry, even though from 2020 to 2022, sales dropped by 14% compared to 2011-2013 (according to data from the third edition of the Agrofarma Observatory).

In fact, only 20% of the product sprayed by a normal agricultural sprayer settles on the plant: this is, therefore, a huge economic waste, with important repercussions for the environment and biodiversity.

In collaboration with Fondazione Bruno Kessler, the startup Spray Logics intends to suggest a more sustainable approach to the use of pesticides by making agricultural sprayers smarter, through the installation of sensors that can regulate the misting on the nozzles of the machinery.

The Spray Logics sensors, in fact, after recognizing the shape of the plant and its various components (leaves, flowers, fruits, trunk), open and close the nozzles of the machinery according to the identified leaf volume, adjusting the spraying accordingly – in real time and in a targeted manner – and resulting in a significant optimization – and decrease (on average -50%) – of the use of the resource, i.e., the plant protection product.

The sensor, consisting of eight separate units – comparable to small cameras – records frequencies of the infrared spectrum. Effective in any environmental and lighting conditions and with a low electrical cost, it does not require any kind of calibration and is easily installed on any sprayer.

In addition, the acquired data, once referenced, allow the farmer not only to fully automatically complete the field logbook – a mandatory document for all farms that use plant protection products for agricultural crop defense – but also to draw up detailed maps of orchards, vineyards, rows, indicating situations of plant health or, on the contrary, of stress and disease. Based on the data, forecast models, and weather sensors, Spray Logics optimizes and plans treatments, monitors risks of environmental contamination – especially near surface water or homes adjacent to land – and determines plant health.

Spray Logics’ sensor, currently undergoing evaluation, validation and efficiency through field collaboration with FBK, will be ready and commercially available in late 2025.

Fondazione Bruno Kessler – Communication and External Relations Service
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