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Many new technologies are making their way to the field, including machine vision identification of weeds and pests and automated harvesting systems. CRDC is supporting projects that look at ways to increase automation in cotton production.

A robot-powered sprayer could be used to optimize plant growth regulator (PGR) rates on a continuous basis. This would improve fiber quality and reduce the risk of severe weather events reducing lint yield.

Tips for Increasing Cotton Harvesting Productivity with Upgrades for Your Harvester

Row Finder Lights

As global cotton production continues to rise, the demand for harvesting equipment is also on the rise. With this in mind, John Deere’s iconic 7760 cotton picker makers are incorporating significant upgrades to enhance cotton harvesting productivity and efficiency.

These updates include a new round module builder that packs up to 8% more seed cotton into the module and a field cleaner to help reduce wrap and hauling costs. Additionally, both the CP770 cotton picker and CS770 cotton stripper offer up to a 2-point increase in turn out and harvest 10 more acres per hour than their predecessors.

The key to maximizing cotton harvesting productivity is precision. The newest generation of John Deere’s cotton harvesters comes standard with advanced guidance systems to help you stay on track and optimize performance. RowSense and AutoTrac Guidance combine mechanical sensors with secondary GPS technology to ensure you never miss a beat while harvesting your crops.

Another important feature of any cotton harvester is the ability to adjust to changing crop conditions throughout the day. With the Enhanced Grating Adjustment System, you can open and close your grates from the comfort of the cab with the touch of a button. This means you don’t have to get out of the machine or get dirty adjusting the grates manually, saving you time and money.

This new feature is available for the CP770 and CS770 cotton harvesters and the X Series combine. It’s easy to install and helps you adapt to rapidly changing crop conditions throughout the day.

During the harvest, synchronizing bar travel with ground speed is essential to avoiding damage and achieving optimal cotton harvesting productivity. Several factors can cause bars to move out of sync with ground travel, including incorrect picker tire size, belt slippage in belt-driven harvesters, and misaligned or improperly assembled row unit drive components. These issues can result in damage to the front or rear of the row-unit and a loss of power, causing the spindles to not grab the cotton.

The CP770 and CS770 cotton harvest equipment comes standard with JDLink connectivity to prevent these issues. This allows you to monitor your machines remotely through the Generation 4 CommandCenter Display and StarFire 7000 Receiver. You can check machine fuel levels and history and even receive expert alerts to help you prevent or resolve potential problems.

Grain Saver Belt Precision Upgrade

Optimizing combines for maximum productivity for cotton growers can mean the difference between an average and record-breaking yield. These upgrades can help you reduce harvest losses, strengthen your ROI, and get more acres harvested per hour.

Count on the latest technology from John Deere to help you capture every ounce of potential from your crop. This simple, affordable modification reduces cutter bar loss by trapping free grain as it is pulled through the draper belt and onto the ground. Your dealer can help determine the compatibility of this accessory with your combines.

Grain-saver belts feature a crosshair design to reduce cutter bar loss by trapping free grain that would otherwise roll past the cutter bar and into the ground. Compared to traditional smooth draper belts, this accessory can reduce grain loss at the combine by up to 25%.

Improved draper belt design also helps keep the cut and threshing process consistent, helping to reduce variability in cut size. This can also improve the consistency of threshing, resulting in higher lint yields.

Enhanced aeration increases the number of lint-producing cells in each boll by up to 40%, allowing the crop to absorb more water and nutrients. It also helps to prevent moisture and nutrient buildup on the swath, which can result in less lint production.

The new HDR Draper Header is available for cutting widths of up to 50 feet, bringing more crops into your combine with each pass and increasing the number of acres you can harvest per day. An industry-exclusive hinge frame delivers unrivaled contour following to minimize header loss, and a new two-speed auger drive sprocket provides a faster feed rate for bulky crops like canola and a slower speed for less bulky crops like cereals.

A more powerful rotor delivers maximum cleaning performance, with active concave dampening to reduce peak loads and maximize uptime. A hydraulically adjustable side knife helps with row crop cleaning and carries over the 10-cm double-cut, dual-drive shaft HydraFlex cutter bar that features 1980 cuts per minute for fast harvesting.

Two center feed belt options include a standard, wide-width option for small grains and canola and a cleated option for higher-volume crops that tend to stick to the drum. A new BP15 belt pickup is also available, featuring improved head-specific factory calibration settings for easy start-up and a new header control unit (HCU) that communicates seamlessly with your combine to send header-width data and crop-to-crop adjustments.

Side Knife Precision Upgrade

Cotton harvesters can reduce waste in the field with a side knife precision upgrade. This modification eliminates the loss of unopened bolls from your harvested crop, helping you to save on energy costs and reduce landfill waste from discarded cotton. This upgrade helps you get the most out of every harvest and can significantly impact your overall bottom line. This upgrade is available for select models of the S700 and S600 series combined.

The arm is designed to pick cotton, similar to how humans do, and can be repurposed for other crops like okra, eggplant, and tomato, which require precision picking. The machine is positioned as a productivity tool rather than displacing current farm labor, mitigating the critical labor challenge looming in India’s cotton industry.

The machine is designed to detect and identify ripe, mature, or damaged bolls with the use of sensors on the front and side of the arm. The arm can also be repurposed to spray crop protection products such as pesticides, herbicides, and water for irrigation, significantly enhancing its versatility and increasing the return on investment. The machine is aimed at women, which will contribute to the sustainability of agriculture in addition to mitigating the critical labor shortage currently affecting cotton farming.

Using this machine will enable cotton farmers to increase yields and profitability while saving money on wages and reducing labor costs and time. This machine will help to improve farmers’ income and provide better living standards for families. It is a significant step towards the future of farm mechanization and the goal of self-sufficiency in agriculture.

Cutter Bar Precision Upgrade

Boost yields without trading equipment with this easy-to-install upgrade. The self-adjusting track roller system fits around the cutter bar to reduce sideways movement, resulting in better blade control. This leads to greater accuracy, fewer crop losses, and higher profitability.

This simple-to-use modification lets you easily adjust gauge shoe height on the front drum of the row unit to minimize crop trampling and improve performance in varying field conditions. Remove the locking pins and rotate the gauge shoes to raise or lower them – all from your cab.

The new large-diameter discs provide more uniform windrow formation and a smoother flow of crop into the bale chamber for faster feeding. They also feature lighter, impact-resistant plastic access doors that simplify adjustment and maintenance. Adding them to your combine helps improve five-bar pickup efficiency, reduces horsepower consumption, and reduces the potential for damage when maneuvering through narrow rows or along field edges.

Designed to make your float applicator more precise and productive, this product improves swath control resolution from 35-17.5 feet per section on a TerraGator AirMax Precision (A & B series) floater. This gives the operator more control over the amount of fertilizer applied to each field, minimizing excess application and cost.

This simple-to-use cab-adjustable accessory enhances the return on your harvester’s investment by reducing unloading times. It helps you open and close grates in one simple step, making filling carts and trailers easier and reducing grain spillage that can lead to volunteer crops.

With these and other specialized upgrades, you can improve your cotton harvester’s ability to maximize your yields. Talk with your local John Deere dealer to learn more about these enhancements and to see which ones can best benefit your operation.