Case study: 47% reduction with a 100% Excellent results

To optimize resource efficiency, Dutch grower Beuling adopted BBLeap’s LeapBox function row-spraying technology on his ridge-cultivated crops to target treatments exclusively on the plants while automatically shutting off nozzles over bare soil. This millimeter-precision band spraying allowed the farm to reduce chemical dosage by 30% and treated surface area by 25%, resulting in a massive 47% total input cost reduction.

The Challenge: Optimizing resource efficiency in onion cultivation

To increase the crop’s resilience, grower Beuling chose to grow his red onions on ridges. The uncompacted soil structure of the ridges allows the roots to penetrate deeper, whilst the elevated position promotes rapid drainage following heavy rainfall, making the crop less susceptible to fungal diseases. Given the distance between the ridges and the practical feasibility of the system, Beuling chose to apply the treatments exclusively to the tops of the ridges. As spray nozzles directed at the ridges cannot make contact with the onion plants, limiting the application prevents unnecessary waste of fungicides on bare soil.

The Innovation: LeapBox’ Row & Pattern Spraying

The solution was found by combining BBLeap’s advanced precision technology with a highly targeted row-application strategy:

• Excellent Spraying: always the correct droplet size, dosage and distribution, enabling the dosage to be reduced.
• Ease of use: With only 1 press on the button in your virtual terminal, only the nozzles above the row will be used while containing the right application rate.
• On-the-Row Band Spraying: Instead of wasting chemicals on bare soil between potato rows, the liquid is directed with millimetric accuracy solely onto the emerging crop rows.

Input Reduction & Financial Yield

During standard broadcast application, approximately one-third of the applied chemical was deposited onto bare soil. Consequently, Beuling implemented a 30% reduction in the application rate, as the active substance is now targeted exclusively at the two-thirds of the field occupied by the crop. Due to the development stage of the crop, three separate plant protection treatments were executed, the details of which are outlined in the accompanying table. The combination of a 30% reduction in dosage and a 25% reduction in treated surface area resulted in a total chemical use reduction of 47%.  

Key Results at a Glance:

• Reduced Sprayed Area: Only 8.25 ha treated out of 11 ha (25% reduction in applied area).
• Lower Chemical Dose: Safely scaled back with 30% per hectare due to flawless crop coverage.
• Financial Impact: A direct cash saving of € 1,751.83 on these fields alone (a total cost reduction of 47%).

Agronomic Outlook & Future Potential

Due to the ease of implementation, this row application technique was subsequently adopted for their potato cultivation. Although the targeted row-spraying method could only be utilized twice per season on the potatoes, the higher cost of the associated plant protection products resulted in substantial financial savings. Consequently, an additional 35 hectares were incorporated into the precision spraying program. Furthermore, the farm cultivates Belgian endive roots on identical ridges, allowing this highly efficient application method to be extended to that crop as well.  

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