EVALUATION THE PERFORMANCE OF THE SOLAR-POWERED SEED DRILL

The division of land into small holdings presents an obstacle to the use of large agricultural machinery due to the difficulty of maneuvering in limited spaces and the high operating costs. Therefore, the importance of small agricultural machinery lies in enhancing efficiency and productivity, facilitating the management and cultivation of small holdings more effectively. Solar energy is one of the renewable energy sources utilized to mitigate the impacts of climate change and the rising energy prices. The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of a solar-powered seed drill. This machine is considered one of the modern applications of renewable energy in agriculture and offers numerous advantages. The prototype solar-powered seed drill consists of the main frame, hopper, seed metering device, seed delivery tube, furrow openers, ground wheel, solar power system, remote control unit, and self-directed unit. The results indicate that increasing forward speed and the number of planting rows raised power requirements, wheel slip, and field capacity, while reducing specific energy and field efficiency. Similarly, increasing planting depth led to an increase in power requirements, slip, and specific energy but decreased field capacity and efficiency. The highest value of required power and slip percentage 0.173 kW and 26.18 % respectively were recorded at 5 cm of the planting depth and 5 of planting rows at 1.23 km/h of forward speed. General studies suggest that electrical energy generated from photovoltaic solar energy can help reduce high energy costs and can be utilized in various agricultural production applications.