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Highlights

For the production fields examined, turn compensation was actuated for between 4.7% and 12.1% of the area during planting operations.

Abstract. Modern precision planters utilize advanced technologies such as electric seed metering units and hydraulic downforce systems, allowing for more precise control of seed placement during planting. This study focused on assessing the effectiveness of adopting turn compensation using electrically driven seed meters. Turn compensation refers to the ability of a planter to adjust seeding rates across the toolbar to account for the speed differential caused by planting around a turn or curvilinear pass. Significant research has been conducted on the accuracy of turn compensation implemented by electric driven seed meters, though no existing research could be found on the amount of ground covered in a production field when the technology is being utilized. Thus, the objectives of this study are: 1) to quantify the extent of area planted with turn compensation actuated on fields with varying size and shape and 2) to assess the potential cost savings when using a planter equipped with this technology. Results indicated that turn compensation could provide accurate adjustments of seed and fertilizer inputs while planting on curvilinear paths. In the production fields examined turn compensation would be actuated on between 4.7% and 12.1% of the area. Spacing data confirmed that the turn compensation accurately corrected the seed spacing when planting on curves. Seeding rate error without turn compensation ranged from 30.9% to 570.1% while with turn compensation seeding rate error was only 0.1% to 10.4%. Finally, results indicated a cost savings of $16 to $212 ha^-1 when using a planter with a turn compensation feature.