First Drive: Could John Deere's 550R self-propelled sprayer be a refined, precise market disrupter?

Big changes to Deere’s sprayer line-up could help propel the manufacturer back into contention in the UK self-propelled sprayer market. We get behind the wheel of the 550R to see what it is made of.

James Huyton
Machinery and Farm Technology Specialist
clock • 8 min read
The 550R test machine was specified with a 36-metre boom with 500mm nozzle spacings with the 5000-litre tank standard specification.
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The 550R test machine was specified with a 36-metre boom with 500mm nozzle spacings with the 5000-litre tank standard specification.

John Deere is no stranger to the self-propelled sprayer market, but while the manufacturer enjoys a dominant position in parts of mainland Europe, particularly France, that success has never fully translated...

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