High-Clearance Sprayer Expands Precision Farming Capabilities
At the Field Day 2026 agricultural forum in Timiryazevsky, Chelyabinsk Region, crop producers were introduced to the Tuman 4 self-propelled sprayer, designed to treat crops more than two metres tall.
Despite the rapid expansion of agricultural drones in Russia, conventional self-propelled ground equipment continues to play a vital role in field operations. It remains the most practical solution for large-scale applications requiring substantial volumes of crop protection products across vast agricultural areas. Some crops, for example, require application rates of up to 300 litres per hectare, making drone-based spraying prohibitively expensive. Ground equipment remains essential in these cases. At the same time, improving its efficiency is equally important, ensuring that every gram of product applied in the field is used as precisely as possible.
High-Clearance Sprayer Debuts in Chelyabinsk Region
At the Field Day exhibition in Chebarkul District, Chelyabinsk Region, local growers were introduced to the new Tuman 4 self-propelled sprayer, manufactured by Samara-based Pegas-Agro.
The sprayer is designed for crop protection during the late stages of plant growth, when crops have reached heights that conventional machinery can damage. Tuman 4 was engineered specifically for this stage of the growing season. Its spray boom can be raised to 2.8m, the highest clearance currently available on the Russian market. An adjustable ground clearance ranging from 1.6m to 2m allows the machine to pass through mature crops without causing damage. These specifications make it suitable for treating sunflower, corn, rapeseed, and soybean fields.
Another distinguishing feature is its low-pressure tyres, which minimise ground pressure and help preserve soil structure and fertility. Tuman 4 is equipped with a 3,000-litre tank, providing an effective balance between operating autonomy and field productivity. Even the standard configuration of Tuman 4 includes an electric rear-wheel steering system. Together, these features enable the machine to treat more than 50 hectares per hour.
Smart Navigation Platform
One of the manufacturer's key innovations is the Pegas-Navigator navigation platform. Developed in-house by Pegas-Agro, it is installed across the Tuman family of self-propelled sprayers and, beginning with Tuman 4, is included as standard equipment. The digital platform helps farmers work with greater precision, lower operating costs, and reduced risk of application errors.
The Pegas-Navigator system controls all interchangeable operating modules and continuously adjusts machine guidance using RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) correction signals to achieve precise field positioning. Pegas-Navigator also displays field boundaries and supports variable-rate application of fertilisers and crop protection products. Particularly important is its overlap detection function, which ensures that the same section of the field is not treated twice.
The navigation platform is integrated with an automatic nozzle section control system that shuts off spray delivery in areas already covered, reducing chemical consumption by 10-15%. An onboard computer records application rates, travel speed, chemical consumption, and operating parameters while generating digital work reports. The collected data can be exported to external storage devices for use on other machines.
"Everything related to the software has been developed by our own IT engineers. During development, we incorporated feedback and requests from farmers, designing the platform to work not with one specific machine but across a broad range of agricultural equipment. As a manufacturer of modular machinery, we understand why this approach matters. First, we ourselves offer five different operating modules, so installing five separate control units simply does not make sense. Second, we respect farmers, value their work, and pay close attention to their operating costs. That is why we created one highly unified solution capable of supporting every task, whether spraying or fertiliser spreading," said Svetlana Linnik, CEO of Pegas-Agro.
New Opportunities for Crop Producers
The Pegas-Navigator digital platform demonstrates that Russian developers are successfully creating advanced domestic navigation systems for agricultural machinery, strengthening technological independence in one of the sector's most important equipment categories. Tuman 4 will enable farming operations to cover large areas more quickly while reducing spending on crop protection products and fuel, improving yields, and lowering production costs.
Looking ahead, integration with digital field maps and farm management platforms will enable systems such as Pegas-Navigator to support variable-rate agrochemical application, remote verification of completed field operations, and automatic transfer of operational data into a unified farm information system.
Pegas-Agro is also expanding its export activities. Tuman sprayers are already operating in Kazakhstan, Belarus, Moldova, and Mongolia. Equipped with the Pegas-Navigator digital navigation platform, Tuman 4 is expected to further strengthen the company's position in international agricultural equipment markets.
