How a Weed Map Works in Practice

For many farmers and contractors, a task map still sounds like something complicated — reserved for people who enjoy working with software. And to be fair: the technology behind it really is complex. What Croptic does is take that complexity away, so that in practice it works just as simply as a regular spraying job. The contractor or farmer loads the map, drives the field as usual, and the machine does the rest. But what's technically happening behind that simplicity is worth understanding properly.

From drone footage to a ready-to-drive map

The process starts with a drone flight over the field. Flying at a height of 9 to 20 metres, the drone captures images with a ground resolution of 2 to 5 mm per pixel — sharp enough to distinguish weeds from around 3 cm in diameter from the crop. Those images are then processed by Croptic AI, which determines plant by plant whether it's a weed or not. Based on that, a task map is generated in the format that matches your sprayer: no conversions, no file juggling — just plug and play, load it, and drive.

On a field of early potatoes, we achieved over 93% savings on herbicide during a correction treatment against thistles. Weed pressure stayed fully under control.

What the sprayer does while the driver drives

Once the task map is loaded into the terminal via USB or wirelessly, section control takes over. The machine's GPS position is continuously compared against the zones on the map, and the nozzles or sections are steered accordingly. Each section gets the signal to open or close depending on what the map prescribes for that position. On modern machines this happens dozens of times per second and every 25 cm, giving a precise transition between treated and untreated ground.

How much precision you get in practice depends on how finely your sprayer can switch. A machine with 3-metre sections works more coarsely than a sprayer with individual nozzle shut-off every 25 cm. For weeds that occur in patches, like thistles and bindweed, that difference matters less in practice — they grow in clear clusters, so even 3-metre sections already deliver savings of 60 to 80%. With more finely scattered weeds, the benefit of individual nozzle shut-off comes through more clearly.

For the driver, almost nothing changes about the way of working. No extra steps, no complicated settings while driving. The machine follows the map, logs what has been done, and stores the treated zones as documentation. That log data is available afterwards as proof of execution — useful for IPM record-keeping and subsidy reporting. Precision spraying and easier administration go hand in hand here.

What it means for tank mix and planning

One detail that both farmers and contractors appreciate in practice: before spraying even starts, you already know how much of the surface area will actually be treated. That's a key difference from camera-based spot-spraying systems, where you only find out afterwards what was actually used. If the map shows that 27% of a 10-hectare field contains weeds, you only need to prepare tank mix for 2.7 hectares, not 10. You end up with an empty tank, just like now, without leftovers that need to be stored. That saves on product costs and makes planning a spray day easier when several fields follow one another.

Which machines are compatible?

In principle, any field sprayer with section shut-off, GPS, and an ISOBUS terminal that can read weed maps. That covers most modern trailed and self-propelled sprayers from brands like John Deere, Fendt, Agrifac, Kverneland, Amazone, and Horsch. If there's any doubt about compatibility, Croptic is happy to provide a test map to make sure everything works correctly before your product goes into the tank. No experiment — a controlled first run.