The first factory-built autonomous cab tractor for the Dutch market, the 170 hp Kubota M7-174 from the M7004 Autonomous series, is on display at AgroTechniek Holland (ATH) in Biddinghuizen, listed at €200,000.

The tractor, with autonomy installed in France, marks a step beyond aftermarket retrofits. Kubota staff will be trained on the system from this month. Dutch field experience will build through either a tour across multiple test farms or a season-long single-farm placement.

What is driving the shift in precision farming at ATH 2026?

This year's innovations rely less on new concepts than on field-validated refinements of existing ones. Developers are tuning AI algorithms with input from working selectors and growers, sharpening disease detection under variable weather and across varieties. The shortage of trained potato selectors in the Netherlands remains a commercial driver.

How do the new potato selection systems compare?

Two suppliers showed units aimed at automating disease roguing.

• Potector 300, H2L Robotics: fully autonomous in-field unit. It identifies viral and bacterial disease, marks plants and stores GPS coordinates. Catalog price €160,000, marketed through Kverneland. Maintenance and software subscription €6,500 per year.
• Selecto Vision, Vegniek: a front-mounted beam carrying 8 cameras on a standard selection cart. The system stops on detection and highlights the plant with a purple-blue light for one or two operators. Catalog price €145,000, versus €40,000 for a standard Vegniek cart. Subscription €5,000 per year.

Six Selecto Vision units run in the northern Netherlands. Both vendors prioritise PVY and bacterial disease recognition, with rhizoctonia, alternaria and phytophthora queued for later algorithm updates. H2L is also studying robotised removal of flagged plants.

Can UV-C replace fungicides in field crops?

Two UV-C machines point to non-chemical control, with autonomous operation built in.

The Wagus from Spanish manufacturer Agrikola, distributed in the Netherlands by Clean Light in Dordrecht, emits UV-C downward or sideways through side mirrors. A 1.5 metre unit has trialled since July in lilies in Drenthe against Botrytis. The manufacturer reports good experiences with the machine on grape mildew in France, courgette and lettuce mildew in Spain. Listed prices: €15,000 for the 1.20 m version, €17,000 for the 1.50 m version.

French start-up UV Boosting, supported by Kubota, targets orchards, vineyards and strawberries to boost plant defence and reduce fungal infection, frost damage and water stress. A narrow-track tractor version was on display. Trials now run on horizontal-beam units in onions and red beet. Price range €40,000 to €50,000.

Both machines auto-start at dusk using RTK-GPS and Starlink.

Where does autonomous traction now stand?

The Kubota leads a category that previously lived only in retrofit. EOX Tractors B.V. in Arnhem offers an electric counterpoint.

The EOX 175 Frontier runs 3 to 4 hours under average load on battery power. An optional AMPBOX charging station, with 210 kWh capacity and solar panels, adds 3 hours of work per hour of charge. Base price €380,000; AMPBOX €85,000. Track width is fixed or adjustable; a front PTO is optional. One unit operates in the Netherlands; sales of two more European units are nearly complete, according to a spokesperson.

What do spot spraying and electric weeding offer farms?

Germany's DynamoBot brings two products to the Innovation Square.

• WeSee: camera-and-AI spot spraying with per-nozzle control, retrofittable to existing spray booms including older machines. Cost €2,500 to €3,000 per metre of spray width.
• WeWeed: linkage-mounted elements combining hoes, electric-pulse weed kill and site-specific liquid fertiliser application. Marketed as a paid weeding service at €1,500 to €2,500 per hectare per year, billed per crop depending on area and number of treatments.

The electric pulses resemble spark-plug discharges, fired selectively rather than continuously.

What should farmers watch next?

The Kubota M7-174 will move into a defined Dutch test programme from this month. Pricing for DynamoBot's weeding-as-a-service and the EOX AMPBOX charging economics will set the early commercial benchmarks as 2026 trials roll into next season.