AGCO Crop Tour has started in Western Europe
AGCO is extending the Crop Tour initiative with a regional scope in Western Europe for agronomic value demonstration of Fuse Technologies and Precision Planting for growers under local conditions .
AGCO Crop Tour has started in Western Europe
AGCO is extending the Crop Tour initiative with a regional scope in Western Europe for agronomic value demonstration of Fuse Technologies and Precision Planting for growers under local conditions .
Figure 1. AGCO Crop Tour locations in Western Europe
Agronomic value demonstration for Western European farmers
AGCO is extending the Crop Tour initiative with a regional scope in Western Europe in 2019 for agronomic value demonstration of Fuse Technologies and Precision Planting for growers under local conditions. The Crop Tour trial plots for sugar beets in Western Europe aim to demonstrate, how growers can increase their yield by setting the correct down force, and how planting depth, singulation, population, and liquid fertilizer application are affecting the yield? AGCO Fuse agronomists Jens Christian Jensen and Nils Zehner have been planting the Crop Tour plots for sugar beets since end of March. Locations comprise the Swiss Future Farm and three commercial farms in Germany and Netherlands (Figure 1). The different locations enable to generate results under conditions that are representative for local growers.
Interestingly, the locations cover different soil and climate types that will reveal local advantages of different planter settings that have been applied for the Crop Tour plots. In addition, the trial plots comprise a comparison with trial strips planted with the standard farm planter at each site.
The Fuse Agronomy Team has travelled the Western Europe Crop Tour locations with a Precision Planting test planter with 3 meters working width and FurrowJet liquid fertilizer system (Figure 2), Fendt 313 tractor with VarioGuide and RTK.
Figure 2. Precision Planting test planter with FurrowJet liquid fertilizer system
Experimental planter settings
The following parameters are tested in this year’s Crop Tour plots:
- Down force
- Planting depth
- Singulation
- Planted population
- Driving speed
- Liquid fertilizer application
- Section Control application
- Different tillage practices
- VRA population based on organic matter
As an outstanding feature of Precision Planting technology, Variable Rate planting based on real-time measurements of organic matter by Smart Firmer soil sensors was applied at the Western Europe Crop Tour plots (Figure 3).
Figure 3. VRA population based on organic matter measured by Precision Planting SmartFirmers
“You do not dare do this in your fields!”
You can say that we do some of the experiment you do not dare do in your fields. But we do this in order to measure the impact of how wrong planter setting will affect your yield. The sugar beets are now in the ground and in two weeks the corn planting starts. Many of the crop tour sites are the same for both sugar beets and corn.
After planting, each site will be monitored by the AGCO Fuse agronomists, in order to follow each plot for field emergence and growth stages of crops planted with the experimental planter settings. Field events at selected Crop Tour sites will show the results of the trials strips and enable knowledge transfer on the maximization of yields for local growers. Visitors will be able to understand the effect of machine adjustment on crop establishment and subsequent yield. More information on the results of crop measurements and planned field events will be published on this website.
Author’s:
Nils Zehner – AGCO Fuse Agronomist
Jens Christian Jensen – AGCO Fuse Agronomist
Nils Zehner and Jens Christian Jensen are working as agronomists for the AGCO Agronomy and Farm Solutions Team and the Commercial Fuse Team EME.
