Automatically controlled multi-channel intelligent fertilizer application machine main buyer country

When you hear about 'smart spreaders', you immediately think of a panacea - but in reality it is a complex tool, where automation is only half the battle. Major buyers from Europe often overestimate the role of sensors, forgetting that accuracy depends on calibration for specific soil.

Why omnichannel is not always synonymous with efficiency

In 2022, we tested a prototype with six independent fertilizer supply channels. Theoretically - ideal for uneven fields. But in clayey areas near Rostov it turned out that when three channels work on wet soil and three on dry soil, the difference in distribution reaches 23%. I had to rewrite the algorithm taking into account hygroscopicity.

By the way,Shandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology Co.,LtdIn projects for the Krasnodar region, a modular system was used. But there engineers made a pre-correction for wind load - a detail that many manufacturers miss.

The most unpleasant case was with nitrate mixtures: during the transition between channels, 'dead zones' were formed up to 1.7 meters long. A solution was found through asynchronous start of screws, but processing speed had to be sacrificed.

Automatic control: where even advanced electronics break down

Systems based on IoT sensors are not about “set it and forget it.” Last season, on a test field in the Voronezh region, we encountered a curiosity: an unmanned spreader mistook a flock of rooks for a “soil composition anomaly” and doubled the dose of phosphorus in the areas.

In the cataloghttps://www.lyzhihuinongye.ruthere is an interesting case with differentiated input - but they do not mention that in order to calibrate to Russian GOSTs they had to integrate third-party weather stations. Without this, accuracy dropped by 18%.

The main lesson: automation must have a 'stupid duplication' mode. We kept the manual bypass valves, although initially we wanted to remove them to save money. This later saved the barley harvest when the GPS module failed.

Integration with irrigation systems - non-obvious difficulties

WhenShandong Lingyao Co.,Ltdoffers a 'fertilizer + watering' complex, many farmers do not take into account the physics of the process. Our experience has shown that when a spreader and drip irrigation operate simultaneously, a paradox arises - fertilizers are washed into the lower layers faster than they can be absorbed.

We had to develop a cyclic algorithm: first adding dry compounds, then a pause of 40-60 minutes, and only then starting watering. But this required upgrading the controllers - standard PLCs did not support such scenarios.

The carbonate soils of the Stavropol region turned out to be especially problematic. There they had to completely abandon liquid fertilizers in favor of granular ones, although initially the project envisaged both formats.

Economics vs agronomy: why buyers save in the wrong places

Key customers in Germany and Poland often demand 'versatility', but in practice the grain machine does not cope well with vegetable beds. In the project for Bavaria they tried to adaptmulti-channel intelligent spreaderfor asparagus - we ended up with over-consumption of fertilizers by 34%.

It is curious that in the description of technologies onlyzhihuinongye.ruthe emphasis is on adaptability. But a detailed study of their cases shows: successful implementations are always associated with preliminary agrochemical analysis for 2-3 seasons.

The most painful moment is service. European customers often underestimate the importance of local technical support. Our partner from Bulgaria lost three weeks of sowing due to a broken dispenser while they were waiting for a specialist from China.

Future directions: where automation is heading

Now we are experimenting with predictive models - not just reacting to current soil indicators, but predicting the need in 7-10 days. The first tests in Tatarstan showed a reduction in the consumption of potash fertilizers by 11% without loss of yield.

In new developmentsShandong Linyao Intelligent Agriculture Technology Co.,LtdI saw an interesting approach: they use spectral analysis of vegetation through drones to correct the operation of ground equipment. True, for now it is 20-25% more expensive than classic solutions.

Personally, I think that the next breakthrough will not be in precise dosage, but in 'smart' chemistry - when the composition of fertilizers dynamically changes depending on the growth phase of the plant. But this will require completely new standards forautomatically controlled systems.