High-Tech Help

The modern world has witnessed a technological evolution with high-tech gadgets pervading nearly every aspect of our lives. As the digital age continues, nursery growers have the chance to embrace advanced production processes and tools.

The WeedSeeker
The patented WeedSeeker technology uses advanced optics and computer circuitry to sense if a weed is present. When a weed enters the 12-inch wide field of view of the sensor, it signals a spray nozzle to deliver a precise amount of herbicide. The WeedSeeker will spray only weeds, not bare ground. The WeedSeeker is effective wherever weeds occur intermittently. The sensor, which is at the heart of the WeedSeeker system, is a chlorophyll identifying selective spray system. The sensor is a self-contained unit that has optical and electronic components needed to detect and spray weeds. It's a system designed to dramatically reduce herbicide usage.
For more: www.ntechindustries.com/weedseeker-home.

SmartCrop temperature sensor
SmartCrop from SmartField uses an infrared thermometer sensor to measure plant canopy temperature. The system is based on a patent held by the Agricultural Research Service. The sensor reads the canopy temperature every minute and reports an average reading every 15 minutes. The system tells growers when plants are thirsty or hotter than their ideal growing temperature via a text message or computer report. It's marketed primarily to row-crop producers, but the technology could work in a nursery.
For more: www.smartfield.com.

Sales app
"There's an app for that" became somewhat of a rallying cry during the last couple of years as mobile apps were introduced in droves. SBI Software recently released a mobile app called MofuMobi for iPhone and Android. This app gives users direct access to crucial sales and marketing files such as business reports, customer contact information, and weekly and monthly sales figures. All information from the app is live, so if data changes in the SBI system, then the updates are automatically reflected correctly in the app. No synching or uploading is required. The app allows users to have up-to-date and on-the-go figures.
For more: www.sbiteam.com.

Robot helpers
Woodburn Nursery & Azaleas in Woodburn, Ore., tried out container-moving robots at its facility earlier this year. These machines, developed by Harvest Automation, can move, consolidate or space 1-, 3- or 5-gallon pots. They work individually or a team of robots can work in unison. Each machine moves 200-300 containers per hour and has a battery life of 4 hours. In 2012, Harvest Automation expects to make about 150 of these robots available at a cost of $25,000 each. At that cost, the company expects nurseries would recoup their investments in 12-24 months.
For more: www.harvestai.com.

Multi-rotor systems
A team of researchers has been testing a device that will effectively collect real-time inventory data. A low-altitude multi-rotor system (MRS) was used as a low-cost platform to collect images. The MRS can fly over both container and field-grown ornamentals to perform inventory tasks. It's being tested at nurseries, and researchers are confident that this aerial system will provide a low-cost method to check inventory, monitor for weed or pest pressure, or monitor plant stress on an as-needed basis.

Researchers are creating a complete user-friendly package that will provide a seamless transition from an image with thousands of plants to actual counts of certain grades of a specific variety. Information from the MRS could be linked to a sales forecast. Since images are tagged to GPS, growers would have the potential to know the exact location of every plant and characteristics about each plant.
For more: Jim Robbins, University of Arkansas, jrobbins@uaex.edu.