John Deere 550R: Self-Propelled Sprayer With a 5,000-Litre Tank and 42 m Boom
US machinery maker John Deere has expanded its 500R self-propelled sprayer range for the 2027 model year. The 550R has a 5,000-litre tank, a new steel boom of up to 42 metres and a cab ahead of the front axle.
Agricultural machinery maker John Deere has updated its 500R series of self-propelled sprayers, which apply crop protection products in the field, for the 2027 model year. The series, with its forward-mounted cab, was first shown at the Agritechnica trade fair in 2025, and it now gains a third model and a new boom. Polish farming outlet topagrar described the 550R version shown at a demonstration.
Models and design
The range has three models: the 540R with a 4,000-litre tank, the 550R with 5,000 litres and the 560R with 6,000 litres. The cab sits ahead of the front axle, with a platform and the tank behind it and the engine at the rear. The cab is based on solutions from John Deere combine harvesters and forage harvesters, adapted to sprayer work. It has a large rear window, category 4 air filtration, electrically closing doors and a fifth-generation display.
Minimum ground clearance is about 1.20 m, and up to roughly 1.30 m depending on the tyres. Track width can be adjusted within two ranges, 1.80–2.50 m or 2.00–2.70 m. Each wheel has an individual air suspension.
The engine has a displacement of 6.8 litres, is also used in 6R series tractors and produces up to 305 hp. The CommandDrive hydrostatic transmission offers a top speed of 40 or 50 km/h, and every wheel has its own hydrostatic motor.
Liquid system
The PowerSpray system uses two separate circuits: a filling pump rated at 1,200 l/min and a spraying pump at 1,000 l/min. The filling pump does not come into contact with the mixed solution, which may contain crop protection products. An "active pause" function lets the operator stop tank filling with one button and take as long as needed to dissolve products in the 50-litre induction hopper.
New boom
The new modular steel boom is stiffer than earlier designs and allows work at up to 30 km/h. Three variants are available: a two-section 30 × 15 m, a three-section 36 × 24 m and a three-section 42 × 28 m. The standard INC system switches each nozzle off individually, while INC Pro adds pulse-width modulation at about 15 Hz so the dose can be adjusted without changing pressure. ExactApply lets each head use one or two nozzles, which helps when the rate is around 400 l/ha or higher. The rate can be varied across up to 15 sections, and boom height is monitored by the BoomTrack Pro system with five or seven sensors.
