Apparatus, system, and method are provided herein for causing and controlling the injection of fertilizer into an irrigation of an irrigation system. The fertigation system comprises a fertigation supply unit including at least one storage container containing at least one of a fertilizer component, a herbicide, and an insecticide coupled to a irrigation of the irrigation system. A fertigation control unit is coupled to the fertigation supply unit. The fertigation control unit is configured to cause the fertigation supply unit to inject at least some of the fertilizer component, herbicide, and/or insecticide into the irrigation. The fertigation control unit can cause the fertigation supply unit to inject the fertilizer component, herbicide, and/or insecticide in response to at least air temperature data and/or soil temperature data received from a sensor unit, or in response to user input at the fertigation control unit.

An apparatus for use in establishing or re-establishing plant growth over a land area. The apparatus includes a supply of a growing medium and an arrangement including at least one delivery outlet for delivering the growing medium at spaced intervals from a height onto a soil surface of the land area. The growing medium contains seeds or is delivered in tandem with and on top of seeds deposited on the soil surface or deposited onto or adjacent to seeds or seedlings already deposited on the soil surface.

A system for dispensing agricultural products includes: a master controller, sets of agricultural product containers, meter devices, and secondary controllers. The meter devices are operatively connected to the product containers and configured to dispense products from the containers to rows in a field wherein each of the sets of containers is associated with a respective row in the field. The secondary controllers actuate the meter devices. Each secondary controller receives command data from the master controller and controls the meter devices for dispensing in response to the command data. Agricultural product from each product container is dispensed in accordance with operator defined instructions to the master controller. The instructions are capable of being provided to the master controller during the planting allowing the dispensing of individual containers to be controlled. In one embodiment the invention is a process for dispensing agricultural products at low application rates utilizing precision placement equipment.

A method for optimising the amount of slurry that is spread on a soil to be fertilised by means of a vehicle comprising a slurry spreader device fed by a tank through at least one conduit, wherein the concentration of at least one slurry ingredient in the conduit is acquired, a pressure difference between two points in the feed conduit upstream and downstream of a valve and the speed of the vehicle are measured, an effective volumetric flow rate of the slurry is calculated as a function of the measured pressure difference and a target volumetric flow rate of the slurry is calculated as a function of a target spreading factor and concentration of the ingredient, the measured speed and a spreading width of the slurry spreader device, and the valve is adjusted as a function of the difference between the effective volumetric flow rate and the target volumetric flow rate.

A drawback system is used with a liquid fertilizer distribution system to be used with agricultural implements. The drawback system may include a two-way, reversible pump that allows liquid fertilizer material to be transported from a system source or toward a system source. The drawback system allows liquid fertilizer that is not applied to an agricultural field to be cleared from piping, conduits, and/or other components of a liquid fertilizer system and drawn back into a holding chamber. The drawback system may also comprise a positive displacement pump in communication with a plurality of valves wherein manipulation of the valves can control the direction of the flow of liquid fertilizer, either from or toward a system/fluid source.

An agricultural implement includes a storage tank, a pump positioned below a bottom portion of the storage tank, and a control system disposed above the bottom portion of the storage tank. The storage tank is configured to hold a flowable agricultural product. The pump is configured to direct the flowable agricultural product out of the storage tank. The one or more controls are configured to control application of the flowable agricultural product.

Land cultivating systems and methods utilizing high-pressure fluid jet cutting techniques are disclosed. An example system includes a mobile unit, a traveler arrangement operably coupled to the mobile unit to ride on the surface of stubble residues as the mobile unit moves across land to be cultivated, and a fluid jet cutting head supported by the traveler arrangement. The cutting head is configured to selectively discharge a high-pressure fluid jet to make a cut through the stubble residues and underlying soil as the mobile unit moves across the land. A soil opening device is provided to form a furrow in the ground in line with the cut made by the high-pressure fluid jet, and a liquid injector nozzle is provided to discharge fertilizer or other chemical(s) into the soil.

In one aspect, a crop input applicator is provided. In one aspect, the applicator comprises a valve (e.g., voice coil valve) disposed to deposit liquid on or near a seed furrow and/or on or near a seed. In one aspect, the applicator includes one or more seed sensors disposed to detect passage of seeds.

Various embodiments of a system for automatically sensing and spraying plants and/or plant precursors as they are planted or otherwise distributed on and/or within the ground is disclosed.

A fluid dispensing apparatus includes a container defining an interior space for holding a fluid. The container is configured to separate the fluid into a liquid and a vapor such that at least a portion of the vapor is disposed above the liquid. The container includes a sidewall and a top wall connected to the sidewall. A fluid inlet and a fluid outlet are disposed in the sidewall. A plurality of vapor valves are releasably connected to the top wall. The top wall includes a plurality of recesses and a plurality of passageways connecting the plurality of recesses to at least one outlet in the top wall. Each of the plurality of vapor valves is disposed within one of the plurality of recesses, and the plurality of vapor valves is configured to regulate the flow of fluid through the plurality of passageways and exhaust vapor disposed above the liquid.