Exactly two years after its launch, the sustainability-focused partnership between Kubota and Uv Boosting has resulted in a range of equipment for the specialist crop sector that enhances plants’ natural defence mechanisms through ultraviolet radiation
Exactly two years ago, in June 2024, Kubota announced a partnership with the French start-up UV Boosting to develop sustainable solutions for the specialist crop sector based on the use of ultraviolet radiation. Over the past two years, the project has been developed at the Kubota Innovation Center in the Netherlands and has now produced a range of equipment for vineyards, orchards and olive groves capable of naturally stimulating plants to strengthen their immune response against pathogens and abiotic stress.
UV Boosting technology uses harmless pulsed ultraviolet-C (UV-C) light to trigger the plants’ natural defence mechanisms. By making the crop perceive a potential attack, the treatment stimulates the production of salicylic acid, enabling plants to reinforce their own natural protection against disease and environmental stress.
The result is an efficient and sustainable solution that simultaneously reduces reliance on crop protection products, increases yields and improves crop quality. Kubota and UV Boosting have translated this technology into a series of implements equipped with specially developed mercury-vapour UV lamps, designed to operate even with low- and medium-horsepower tractors.
Power requirements are limited to just 12 hp for each irradiation panel, allowing even smaller, family-run specialist farms—where a single tractor typically performs every field operation—to carry out treatments independently. In vineyards, the technology generally requires only three or four applications per season, spaced over a period of two to three weeks.
With this objective in mind, the vineyard version is equipped with two irradiation panels, one on each side of the row, each delivering 3.5 kW of power and capable of adapting to row spacings ranging from 1.30 to 3.00 metres. Weighing less than 850 kg, the machine is able to maintain the optimum operating distance from the crop—between 15 and 25 cm—even when travelling at the recommended working speed of 4 km/h across uneven or steep terrain.
For operations requiring two rows to be treated simultaneously, Kubota and UV Boosting also offer an over-the-row version equipped with four 3.5 kW panels. With a total weight of approximately 1,100 kg, this model is designed not only for larger vineyards but also for orchards and olive groves, where six treatments per season are generally recommended, again at intervals of two to three weeks.
Hydraulic adjustment of the irradiation panels enables operators to adapt the equipment to changing field conditions, different training systems and the stage of crop development, ensuring precisely targeted treatments for every variety grown on the farm.
Title: Kubota and Uv Boosting: collaboration for sustainable defense
Translation with ChatGPT
