Yamaha Agriculture has expanded the capabilities of its Prospr autonomous farming platform with the introduction of a new herbicide attachment designed to automate weed control in orchards and vineyards. Developed in partnership with Croplands Equipment, the system brings precision herbicide application to the platform, helping specialty crop growers reduce labour demands, improve spraying accuracy, and increase operational efficiency.
The new attachment integrates seamlessly with the Prospr platform, enabling growers to automate a broader range of orchard and vineyard operations using a single autonomous vehicle. Yamaha Agriculture will showcase the technology at Hort Connections 2026 in South Australia, highlighting its latest advancements in agricultural automation.
Yamaha Agriculture President and CEO Nolan Paul said specialty crop producers are increasingly seeking practical and scalable automation technologies that improve sustainability, efficiency, and profitability while preparing their operations for the future.
According to Paul, Prospr was designed as a modular, AI-powered platform capable of supporting multiple attachments from different equipment manufacturers throughout the growing season. He said the new herbicide attachment demonstrates the platform’s flexibility by allowing growers to integrate weed control into existing management programs, particularly in situations where labour shortages and timing constraints can significantly affect crop quality and performance.
He added that Yamaha Agriculture is working closely with growers to build a connected agricultural ecosystem where sensing, autonomy, and intelligent technologies work together to help producers plan, respond, and adapt more effectively throughout the growing cycle.
The new herbicide attachment is engineered to provide accurate and consistent weed control while reducing chemical waste and improving operational efficiency, even under challenging field conditions. Automated spraying functions include nozzle activation, tank agitation, liquid level monitoring, and real-time application rate adjustments based on vehicle speed. Mechanical breakaway boom arms help protect crops and equipment by absorbing impacts when operating around trees, vines, and support posts, while flexible chemical management options allow growers to choose between direct tank mixing or inline dosing for greater application precision.
All attachment configurations integrate with Yamaha Agriculture’s management and planning software, including the Multi-Vehicle Remote (MVR) interface, allowing operators to monitor and manage several autonomous Prospr vehicles simultaneously from a single control system.
The Prospr platform is already supporting orchard and vineyard operations across the United States, Australia, and New Zealand. Designed to operate efficiently in both small, complex orchards and large commercial production environments, the platform performs a variety of autonomous tasks, including precision crop spraying and herbicide application.
Paul said Prospr was developed as a flexible autonomous platform capable of supporting numerous tools and attachments while combining field operations with data analytics and intelligent decision-making. He noted that its hybrid diesel-electric powertrain delivers up to 40 hours of operation while reducing fuel consumption by as much as 70%, helping growers lower operating costs and improve sustainability.
The platform also incorporates precision spraying technologies, remote fleet management, and multi-vehicle operation, allowing one or two operators to supervise several autonomous machines working collaboratively. Additional features include rapid row-to-row turning for greater efficiency in confined orchard and vineyard environments, programmable job planning, speed-controlled operating zones, reduced soil compaction through a specially designed chassis and tyre configuration, over-the-air software updates, remote diagnostics, and electrically driven Quantum fans with zone-level control for precise chemical application.
Yamaha Agriculture continues to expand its connected precision agriculture portfolio, which includes the Prospr autonomous hybrid vehicle platform, AI-powered yield prediction and analytics, integrated farm management systems, and autonomous fruit-packing technologies. By combining hardware, software, and data into a unified ecosystem, the company aims to help growers improve productivity, sustainability, and decision-making throughout every stage of the growing season.
Paul concluded that Yamaha Agriculture is building connected technologies that enable growers to operate more efficiently, make better-informed decisions, and adapt to changing conditions through AI-powered yield forecasting, autonomous spraying, integrated farm management, and intelligent resource planning.