John Deere has announced a partnership with the German start-up company Solorrow, which has developed a site-specific smartphone application to easily create variable rate application maps. These can then be shared with the John Deere Operations Center and sent wirelessly to machines to enable more precision operations.
This is particularly important as the industry looks to the more sustainable application of fertilisers and chemical crop protection products.
Software and app developments are becoming increasingly important in precision farming and Solorrow is said to offer an affordable and easy solution, which allows users to quickly identify fields and boundaries in a map view on their tablet or smartphone.
Based on five years of biomass data, the selected areas can be divided into different soil zones that as the basis for fertiliser and spray application maps. These can be sent to the John Deere Operations Center and then sent on to the appropriate vehicle. The John Deere in-cab display can receive the data and provide ISOBUS controlled fertiliser spreaders or sprayers with the site-specific application rate based on its position in the field.
The interaction between the Solorrow app and John Deere’s precision agriculture technology not only has operational benefits; it also demonstrates that a smooth exchange of data between different manufacturers’ software solutions is both possible and practical.
With this new app, Solorrow and John Deere are combining their marketing and sales activities. This will allow dealers to offer a wider range of precision agriculture solutions, while customers continue to benefit from the usual technical support.
The Solorrow app is available through Google Play and the Apple App Store. It is free of charge to download, with subscription packages available within the application to suit the user’s needs.