Field data 2026
Season 2026 in numbers: 10,250 hours of AI in-row weeding
What 199 machines with AROW inside did in the first five months of 2026: hours, hectares, hand-weeding hours saved, crops and months. The season is still running.
As of: season 2026Last reviewed
Key figures of season 2026
In the first five months of 2026, 199 machines with AROW inside weeded about 14,000 hectares in 23 countries and saved farmers 1.36 million hours of hand weeding.
Season 2026 · fleet data from machines at work on farms. All 2026 figures cover only the first five months of the year; the season is still running.
Key figures of season 2026
| Figure | Value | How it is obtained |
|---|---|---|
| Machines with AROW active | 199 | Telemetry |
| Countries | 23 (4 continents) | Telemetry |
| Manufacturers building AROW into their machines | 9 | Ullmanna |
| Plants trained | 194 | Fleet management, 25.09.2026 |
| Autonomous in-row weeding | 10,250 h | Telemetry |
| Peak month | June: 3,788 h | Telemetry |
| Area weeded | ~14,000 ha | Calculated from hours and time per hectare per crop |
| Hand-weeding hours saved | 1.36 million h | Calculated: hand-weeding hours per ha × share removed |
| Average labour cost | €18.77 per hour | Weighted by where the machines run |
| Labour cost saved | ~€25.5 million | 1.36 million h × €18.77 |
| Plant decisions | 2.16 billion | Telemetry |
Since the first machine in 2021: 31,000 hours of autonomous in-row weeding and 6.31 billion plant decisions from 2021 to 2026.
Machine hours per month
June was the peak month with 3,788 hours: 37 % of the season's hours in 30 days, across 199 machines at once.
| Month | Hours |
|---|---|
| Mar | 144 h |
| Apr | 887 h |
| May | 2,535 h |
| Jun | 3,788 h |
| Jul | 1,456 h |
| Aug | 1,354 h |
| Sep | 80 h |
Field hours by crop
Pumpkin and lettuce carried the most hours, ahead of sugar beet. Ten crops account for most of the hours, and more than a hundred other plants make up the rest.
| Crop | Field hours 2026 | Share of all hours |
|---|---|---|
| Pumpkin | 2,974 h | 29.0 % |
| Lettuce | 2,171 h | 21.2 % |
| Sugar beet | 797 h | 7.8 % |
| Tomato | 643 h | 6.3 % |
| Celery | 540 h | 5.3 % |
| Cabbage | 434 h | 4.2 % |
| Broccoli | 282 h | 2.8 % |
| Onion | 275 h | 2.7 % |
| Watermelon | 240 h | 2.3 % |
| Fennel | 218 h | 2.1 % |
How the savings were calculated
Four steps, so you can check the result against your own farm.
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10,250 machine hours in five months of 2026 → hectares. Time per hectare depends on the crop: pumpkin and sugar beet about 0.5 h (wide rows, fast), cabbage, tomato and celery about 1 h, lettuce, onion and herbs about 1.3 h.
14,000 haweeded -
Hand weeding takes 40–230 h per hectare depending on the crop: pumpkin 40 h, lettuce 200 h, celery 230 h. The AI removes 78–97 % of that work.
1.36 M hhand-weeding hours saved -
One hour of farm labour including taxes: Austria €18, Germany €19, Switzerland €27, Italy €14 … weighted by where the machines run.
€18.77average per labour hour -
1.36 million hours × €18.77
€25.5 Msaved in five months of 2026