BBLeap Spray Control Benefits Both Profitability and the Environment

Admittedly, purchasing the BBLeap system to fit onto an existing field sprayer represents a significant initial investment. However, this year’s experience at VT Agro shows that this decision makes perfect sense.

When sprayer operator Peter Jørgensen at VT Agro gets behind the wheel, he finds it extremely easy to operate the sprayer correctly. “That is just one of several benefits we have gained from investing in the BBLeap system for pulsed nozzle technology,” notes Henrik Terp. He is a co-owner of VT Agro, headquartered at Sanderumgaard between Odense and Nyborg. For many years, the farm has focused on soil-improving practices across a total of 2,500 hectares (500 of which are farmed organically), in line with the principles of Conservation Agriculture.

“Our goal is exclusively to carry out needs-based spraying, applying products only where problems exist.” — Henrik Terp, Co-owner VT Agro

More Crops Than Usual

Table potatoes have been grown for many years at Sanderumgaard, where the soil is well suited to this particular crop. A few years ago, asparagus was added to the crop rotation. Following the lease of Gyldensteen, a large area of consumption onions was introduced as well. These are grown alongside more traditional cash crops: cereals, rapeseed, and grass seed. “We need to carry out spraying operations that are highly precise, while also making it easy to switch the sprayer from one crop to another,” explains Henrik Terp. Furthermore, it is about using inputs as efficiently as possible—applying only as much active ingredient as necessary to achieve the desired effect. “This benefits the environment while enabling us to achieve equal or better yields, which in turn leads to higher profitability,” he states.

Uncompromising Precision

Onions are a very demanding crop when it comes to crop protection. If the dosage is too low, weeds are not adequately controlled; if it is even slightly overdosed, the onions suffer damage. “In this respect, BBLeap has really lived up to our expectations,” notes Henrik Terp. It delivers strong operational efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. “In the future, balancing both aspects will become even more crucial, and our investment in the system has brought us a long way,” he states. With additional technology—such as a sprayer-mounted camera to detect weeds, diseases, and pests combined with AI—he believes precise spot spraying (one of the BBLeap system’s greatest strengths) will become even easier.

Position-Specific Spraying

Previously, ‘flat-rate spraying’ referred to simply applying crop protection according to a fixed plan, using a predetermined dose of predetermined chemicals. “Our goal is exclusively to carry out needs-based spraying, applying products only where problems exist,” points out Henrik Terp. Today, this is done using drones that locate diseases and weeds, or by scouting fields manually for pests like aphids. “The maps we obtain from drone flyovers or manual surveys are loaded directly onto the screen in the tractor, which is part of the BBLeap system,” he explains. The sprayer operator can then drive into the field, with the water volume and droplet size for the current operation being the only settings they need to adjust. The BBLeap system controls everything else automatically.

One Nozzle for All Tasks

Previously, operators needed multiple nozzles on the boom to handle spraying operations that required different water volumes and droplet sizes. “With BBLeap, we simply use the same nozzle for everything, and it is remarkably easy to operate,” points out Peter Jørgensen. In the tractor cab, he shows the screen where he can set both parameters with a simple tap. “Once I have done that, BBLeap takes care of the rest automatically, regardless of my driving speed within the specified limits,” he explains.

“BBLeap benefits the environment whilst enabling us to achieve the same or better yields, which in turn means better profitability.” – Henrik Terp, Co-owner VT Agro

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