Agras T50 vs GUSS
Two spraying machines, one verified table. Every figure below is sourced and dated; vendor claims are labelled and kept apart from independent results.
Heavy-lift spray-and-spread drone for terrain ground rigs cannot reach — previous-generation since DJI's July 2025 global launch of the Agras T70P and T100.
Best for: Steep vineyards, terraced orchards and wet fields where a ground sprayer cannot travel.California-built (Kingsburg) autonomous sprayer for orchards and vineyards, now a wholly owned John Deere subsidiary after an August 2025 acquisition that followed a three-year joint venture. GUSS navigates rows itself on GPS + LiDAR with no driver on board, but GUSS/Deere describe this as "supervised" autonomy — one operator monitors and can remotely intervene on up to 8 machines at once from a laptop. The line spans base GUSS (600-gal tank, diesel), Mini GUSS (smaller footprint for vineyards/high-density orchards/berries), Herbicide GUSS (sensor-triggered spot-spray weed control) and a 2024 fully electric option; sold and serviced only through John Deere dealers in the US and Australia, with 250+ units deployed globally as of the 2025 acquisition.
Best for: Large commercial orchard, vineyard and berry operations in the US or Australia (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, citrus, stone fruit, wine grapes) wanting to shrink a multi-tractor spray crew — GUSS's own case study shows a conventional 8-worker, 6-tractor medium-scale crew dropping to 2 workers and 4 GUSS units.| Agras T50 Verified 2026-07-16 | GUSS Verified 2026-07-18 | |
|---|---|---|
| Overview | ||
| Task | Spraying | Spraying |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted | Fully autonomous |
| Country of origin | China | United States |
| Availability | Available now | Available now |
| EU market | CE-marked | Pending |
| Lead time | ~4 wk | Not disclosed |
| Last verified | 2026-07-16 | 2026-07-18 |
| Specifications | ||
| Power source | Swappable battery · fast charger + generator | Diesel — John Deere 4.5L 173 hp Stage V engine (Tier 3 available for export); Herbicide GUSS uses a 4.5L 74 hp Stage V engine (no DEF); a fully electric variant (Electric GUSS, John Deere KREISEL batteries) launched 2024 |
| Required tractor power | Not applicable | Not applicable — self-propelled 4WD/4-wheel-steer platform, not a tractor implement |
| Dimensions | 2.80 m diagonal (arms open) | GUSS: 24 ft long x 6 ft 4 in tall x 8 ft 3 in wide (standard tires; 7 ft 6 in narrow / 8 ft 4 in low-impact options). Herbicide GUSS: 23 ft 6 in long x 6 ft 4 in tall x 8 ft 4 in transport width, 15-19 ft adjustable spray width |
| Weight | 52 kg (dry) | GUSS: 11,660 lb empty. Herbicide GUSS: 12,460 lb empty (manufacturer brochure) |
| Min farm size | 2 ha | Not disclosed as a number; manufacturer brochure markets GUSS at small, medium and large operation scales (its own "small scale" case study is still a professional commercial grower, not a hobby farm) |
| Productivity | Up to 21 ha/hour (spraying) | 90-gallon fuel cell gives approximately 13-14 hour run time; one operator can monitor/supervise up to 8 GUSS machines at once; manufacturer case study cites refill downtime cut from a typical 45 minutes to about 3 minutes |
| Max speed | 13.9 m/s | Not disclosed |
| Sensors | Dual RTK · front & rear phased-array radar · binocular vision | GPS + LiDAR for autonomous row navigation; user interface flags position/spray-rate/mobility faults with automatic visual and audible alerts; Herbicide GUSS adds multiple onboard weed-detection sensors for spot-spraying |
| Price & model | ||
| Price (EUR) | €18,500 (typical EU dealer bundle — drone, spray tank, batteries + charger; drone-only quotes run lower) | Not disclosed |
| Native price | €18,500 | Not disclosed |
| Business model | Buy · often bundled with batteries + charger | Buy, sold and serviced exclusively through John Deere dealers in the US and Australia; Herbicide GUSS is also offered as a pay-for-service option alongside outright purchase. No unit price published. |
| Ongoing cost | €600/yr; battery replacement every ~1,000 cycles | Diesel fuel, tires, spray consumables (nozzles, pump wear parts) and scheduled maintenance through the John Deere dealer network; costs not published |
| Key outcome | ||
| Best verified result | Water use per ha −93% · vendor | Spray-crew labour and equipment at medium scale 8 workers to 2 workers (75% fewer); 12 pieces of towed/tractor equipment to 4 GUSS units · vendor |
| EU context | ||
| CE marking | CE marked (2024) | Not disclosed — no CE-marking evidence found; confirmed commercial deployment is US and Australia only |
| Machinery Regulation | Compliant; UAS falls under EASA Open/Specific category | Not applicable — no evidence GUSS has been placed on the EU market |
| CAP subsidy | Aerial PPP application restricted under SUD — derogations vary by state | Not applicable — no EU/CAP-linked deployment found; case-study savings above relate to US/Australia operations |
"—" means the manufacturer has not disclosed the figure; we never estimate silently. Model either machine's payback with your own numbers on its ROI calculator page.