Second Sun announces integration with John Deere

Danish turf-tech company Second Sun announced a new integration with John Deere, bringing hyperlocal turf disease risk maps directly into John Deere GPS-guided sprayers.

Second Sun’s platform analyzes billions of data points in real time to predict disease pressure at high spatial resolution across the course. With the new integration, disease risk maps can be transferred into John Deere GPS-guided spraying systems, where the prescription maps are used to control variable-rate application in the field.

“Precision disease management requires the utilization of both academic research and technological innovation to become a reality for golf course superintendents, and this integration is a major step towards making that happen,” University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and turfgrass pathologist Dr. Paul Koch said. “Precision application based on the microclimates present around a course is agronomically sound and a more economically and environmentally responsible way to use plant protection products.”

“By connecting our hyperlocal disease intelligence with John Deere’s precision equipment, we are closing the gap between data and action,” Second Sun CEO Nicolai Moustgaard said. “Superintendents can move directly from a disease risk map to targeted application in the field. The result is the same level of protection, achieved with smarter use of inputs, which can help reduce overall product use and lower the environmental footprint of disease management.”