John Deere to launch futuristic sprayer with carbon fibre boom
JOHN DEERE’s futuristic new 5000-litre capacity R4050i self-propelled sprayer will be demonstrated for the first time in the Sprays & Sprayers arena at Cereals 2018 in England next month.
Able to spray at widths of 18 or 36m, Deere says the high-performance carbon fibre spray boom is considerably lighter than steel or aluminium designs. However, Deere engineers say the carbon fibre material used in its construction is around 5.5 times stronger than steel and is able to flex, which relieves the boom structure from the stress that can cause fractures in metal booms.
The carbon fibre boom is specially designed to withstand the high dynamic loads created at high application speeds of 20-30kph, even with very wide booms.
The R4050i is powered by a 6.8-litre John Deere PowerTech engine producing 235-rated hp (255hp maximum).
This engine meets Stage IV emissions regulations by incorporating Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR). The sprayer is also equipped as standard with the John Deere GreenStar 3 2630 touchscreen display with full FieldDoc spray documentation and ISOBUS compatibility.
It comes AutoTrac-ready and with a free JDLink Ultimate subscription for one year, which enables a range of additional precision farming solutions including new Remote Display Access and Wireless Data Transfer.
Other standard features include a multi-functional control lever, electronic sprayer control for automatic filling, mixing, spraying and rinsing, and a 50-litre inductor for safe transfer of crop protection chemicals into the main tank.
The PowerSpray solution system features a unique dual-circuit design with two solution pumps, each optimised for a specific function.
A new, purpose-designed waterproof keypad and digital display at the sprayer’s operator station enable full control of automated filling, spraying and agitation.
The industry exclusive Active Pause function enables the solution tank to stop filling while still providing clean water under high pressure for rinsing out chemical containers.
This means the typical race against the filling solution tank is eliminated, and operators have all the time and clean water they need to complete chemical filling without stress.
To reduce input costs by minimising overlaps or skips, John Deere’s automatic Section Control system switches individual boom sections on and off when entering or leaving predefined areas, including headlands,