Croplands, Yamaha unveil new autonomous weed control tool

Croplands Equipment and Yamaha Agriculture have expanded their autonomous farming offering with the release of a new herbicide spray attachment for Yamaha's Prospr autonomous vehicle platform.

Designed for use in orchards and vineyards, the attachment aims to help growers automate weed control operations, improving efficiency while reducing manual inputs.

Croplands general manager, Brendan Deck, said the attachment was a natural evolution of the Prospr platform, which is already being used by growers across Australia and New Zealand.

“Prospr has already proven itself as a reliable autonomous platform in vineyards and orchards, and this herbicide attachment is a natural next step,” Deck said.

“Growers are telling us they want automation that fits seamlessly into existing programs, particularly around weed control where labour and timing are critical.

“This attachment has been developed to do exactly that – extend the capability of Prospr while keeping operation straightforward and efficient.”

The launch builds on the partnership between Croplands and Yamaha Agriculture, with Croplands manufacturing the Q-Series fungicide sprayer attachment for global markets while also holding exclusive distribution rights for Prospr and its related attachments across Australia and New Zealand.

Deck said the partnership combined Yamaha Agriculture's global engineering expertise with Croplands' local support network and more than 50 years of spraying equipment experience.

“That combination hasn't changed, and it's a big part of why Prospr is gaining momentum across Australia and New Zealand.”

Yamaha Agriculture president and chief executive officer, Nolan Paul, said the herbicide attachment represented another step towards building a broader suite of automation solutions for specialty crop growers.

“Yamaha Agriculture works to help specialty crop growers be more sustainable, profitable and resilient,” Paul said.

“We build precision ag automation and intelligent systems that help growers plan, act and adapt with confidence.

“Having multiple attachments, delivered via expert partners, is a key pillar of our strategy to deliver automation globally, at scale.”

The herbicide attachment joins Yamaha Agriculture's growing portfolio of autonomous and precision agriculture technologies, which includes autonomous vehicle platforms, AI-powered analytics and integrated farm management systems.