A spot spraying system designed to detect and spray only where required was awarded the Innovation Award at this years AgriScot event.

The SKAi spot spraying system from SoilEssentials offers a ground-breaking advancement in agricultural technology. The new system detects areas requiring spray using AI powered weed recognition through boom mounted cameras and is fully automatic.

This advancement in technology can reduce spray usage by up to 95% compared to blanket spraying, reducing crop damage and protecting valuable natural resources.

It Is available as a bespoke 12m-15m TEAM sprayer or as a retrofit system fitted to a variety of suitable sprayers.

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Dr Gregor Welsh, hardware developer and general manager at SoilEssentials, was incredibly pleased with the home-grown product coming out on top, he said: “It is a fantastic feeling, it’s great to get recognition for a product that is designed in-house and brought all the way through testing by our team.

Referencing the impressive shortlist of candidates for the awards Mr Welsh commended their hard work in pushing the boundaries of product development in the sector before praising his team for continuing to deliver important technology to farmers.

Mr Welsh highlighted the importance of the new sprayer technology stating: “This product will save chemical usage while maintain crop yields and protect valuable species like clover throughout grassland.

“It’s a win-win for everyone involved, from the environment to the commercial to the output of those crops.”

The AgriScot Product Innovation Award looks to showcase some of the latest market advancements with this year’s shortlist comprising a wide mix of new products. These range from new solutions for animal heath to baling technique

Coming just shy in the proceedings was smaXtec with their ‘smaXtec Digital Assistant’, a product designed using bolus technology to gather data from a cow’s reticulum.

Robert Kirk, country sales manager for smaXtec, said that this recognition would help raise the profile of their product, and referenced its unique roll in animal health going forward.

He said: “It can have a dramatic impact on a proactive healthcare approach realistically looking at immune system support - it is a massive management tool.

“We are a market leader and are the only system on the market with direct measurement using bolus technology.”