Munckhof Fruit Tech, Agromanager join for data management, spray registration

Munckhof Fruit Tech Innovators is pursuing the most efficient spraying techniques for fruit tree cultivation. The Isobus connection on all its spraying equipment is the latest new feature to be offered by Munckhof.

According to a news release, fruit growers can use this feature to establish a direct data connection with Agromanager, a management system for fruit cultivation.

Munckhof Fruit Tech Innovators is known for spraying technology that achieves high drift reduction and minimizes the consumption of spray media and fuel. These benefits are the result of the low spraying pressures and sophisticated air flow used by the company.

Munckhof’s vision for the future focuses on automation, GPS and data management to help growers optimise their yields and quality and minimize costs. Thanks to the new collaboration with Agromanager, fruit growers can automatically send data such as verified spray programs from Agromanager to the orchard sprayer.

The new Isobus connection on all Munckhof orchard sprayers makes this possible. The Munckhof sprayer uses GPS technology to automatically execute the spraying assignment. This avoids errors and inaccuracies on the part of the driver.

All the data relating to the spraying assignment performed by the Munckhof sprayer, such as time registration, spray medium usage and fuel consumption, can be sent back to Agromanager via the same Isobus connection. So this feature also allows fruit growers to automatically comply with their mandatory crop registration. Fruit growers can easily store, analyse and use all the spray data to optimise their costs, use of spray media and crop yields.

Automatic registration of spray data in Agromanager

The collaboration between Agromanager and Munckhof opens up new opportunities for fruit growers. Fruit growers can now track the sprayer in the orchard online via Agromanager and monitor progress. If a buyer has special requirements or a need is determined based on observations, different parts of the orchard can be treated automatically according to a different spray program stored in Agromanager, down to individual tree level if necessary.

In the future, Munckhof Fruit Tech Innovators expects to apply even more smart sensors and advanced camera techniques in its orchard sprayers. Additional data such as leaf discolouration, insects and growth parameters can then be automatically detected and recorded during each spraying operation. Fruit growers can process all this information in Agromanager to achieve further improvements, such as higher yields and fruit of a consistently excellent quality.

New Isobus technology also suitable for retrofitting to existing Munckhof sprayers

The standardized Isobus communication technology that Munckhof recently started fitting to its spraying equipment means that the company’s orchard sprayers can now communicate effortlessly with tractors, displays, software and the GPS units used by all the major brands.

Consequently, growers can (continue to) use their preferred tools and computer software. The Agromanager and Isobus combination can also be used for other equipment such as root pruners and manure spreaders.

More information is available on www.munckhof.org and www.agromanager.eu.