Mechanics for Seedling Feeding in Vegetable Transplanters: Design and Development of Semi-Automatic Systems

Aim of study: The seedling feeding mechanism is a significant element in transplanters. The current study designed and developed two semi-automatic mechanical seedling feeding mechanisms for the tractor mounted vegetable transplanter, revolving multi-chamber disc (FMRMD) and horizontal dragging magazines (FMHDM). Area of study: The research was conducted in the Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences & Technology of Jammu, Jammu, India. Material and methods: The FMRMD consists of 12 chambers on the revolving disc, which move clockwise and drop the seedling at the guided hole, whereas FMHDM consists of six hollow pipes that drag the seedling to the dropping point. The theoretical planting frequency of the FMRMD and FMHDM was found to be 33.94 and 34.87 plants·min-1. The developed feeding mechanisms were installed on the semi-automatic vegetable transplanter and tested in the field to investigate the effect of seedling feeding method, plug type and age on the missing index percentage for tomato and eggplant. Main results: The first-order interaction of feeding method and plug type in the tomato and plug type and seedling age in the eggplant crop were statistically significant on the missing index. At the same time, the main effect of the feeding method was also significant on the missing index for both crops. The missing index percentage was maximum for the FMHDM and minimum for the FMRMD for both crops. The field tests of the feeding devices were successful. Research highlights: The created technologies may be employed on commercial transplanters or for research.