OSU Smart Machine "Reads" Plant Needs and Sprays Plants on the Spot As this smart tractor/sprayer moves through a field it “reads” what a plant needs and sprays the proper amount...all within a few split seconds. Spray amounts change as the next plants in the row tell it something different. Oklahoma State University biosystems engineers and agronomists who developed this first-of-its kind tractor/sprayer explain that it is equipped with sensors to track a plant’s needs. Data from the sensors are then transmitted to computers on the vehicle which tell the spray equipment how much to apply. The liquid sprayed can be either herbicide or fertilizer, d epending on what is programmed and loaded for the job. Preliminary results indicate that nitrogen use efficiency can be increased from 50 percent currently obtained by wheat to approximately 70 percent. In the initial tests conducted to control bindweed, herbicide use was reduced approximately 50 percent. Contact: John B. Solie, Professor, Power and Machinery 112 Ag Hall, Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Okla. 74078-6010 Phone: 405-744-5432 Fax: 405-744-6059 E-mail: jsolie@agen.okstate.edu Making a Difference Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Oklahoma Agricultural Experiment Station College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Oklahoma State University This page was created by msc.