Dewulf and Agrointelli jointly explore autonomous potato planting

Dewulf and Agrointelli have announced that they will be working together to explore the benefits of using autonomous machines in potato cultivation. This joint effort is triggered by a shared vision of broadening the possibilities for potato growers to implement new solutions for more sustainable, efficient, and robust production methods and technologies. A first project will see the combination of the autonomous Robotti platform with a 4-row Miedema CP 42 cup planter.

Enabling automated operations for potato growers

Combining their competences, experiences, and technologies, Dewulf and Agrointelli will undertake a joint effort towards offering automated operations with a high level of data acquisition and site-specific optimization. For this effort, Dewulf will be offering its decades-long experience in robust, high-tech and cost-efficient solutions for potato growers. Agrointelli will from its side be supplying the robotic platform Robotti. The two companies have the ambition to enable potato growers to enjoy automated operations for soil preparation, planting and crop care during the season with a light-weight automated setup.

First project

For their first joint project, the autonomous Robotti platform from Agrointelli will be combined with a 4-row Miedema CP 42 cup planter. This planter will be a straightforward, mechanically-driven machine. This will allow to identify what automation and optimization features are really needed when potato planting with a robot. The autonomous potato planting combination recently planted on the demonstration fields of Potato Europe ’21. Robotti had already demonstrated spot spraying in relation to potatoes together with Wageningen University in Lelystad.

Shared vision on automation and precision farming

Dewulf and Agrointelli share their vision in the importance of automation and precision farming as a response to the challenges potato growers are currently facing in their critical and important high-value activity. These challenges include a lack of skilled labour, the threats of soil compaction and a high need for sustainable solutions.

Quote Melle van der Molen, Product Manager Planting equipment at Dewulf:

“At Dewulf, we place the need of our customers, of potato growers worldwide, first. We believe a great role will be played by autonomous agricultural machinery in the future. Agrointelli is at the vanguard of robotisation in arable farming. The Robotti is a great example of how robotisation can reduce labour requirements while at the same time tackling soil compaction. The learnings and discoveries that will come out of this project will help make potato cultivation more enjoyable for growers and will shape the solutions that we will be offering tomorrow.”

Quote Ole Green, CEO of Agrointelli:

“The well-known, robust and reliable machines from Dewulf enable us to use Robotti in a whole new arable potato use case, in which we see fantastic perspectives. Potato production in Europe is an important industry and the crop’s cultivation area is increasing in size throughout Europe. At the same time, it is a production system requiring a lot of manhours as well as a lot of treatments during the season – here we see some amazing optimization possibilities for the growers to improve their production system and economy.”