Evaluation of operational precision of a pneumatic seed drill used by farms in Eritrea

The use of a contemporary sowing machinery unit - Nardi Dora (DORA 600) air drill for sowing wheat at the Tselot farm in Eritrea revealed a wide range of characteristics that trigger the assessment of the movement precision of the unit. They include uneven inter-row distances and visible over-seeded and skipped zones. Inaccurate seeding results in repeated and missed (unsown area) sowing patterns that lead to the rise of monetary expenses owing to the overconsumption of seed and fuel while lowering production. The study sought to assess the rate of repetition and rate of miss operations to evaluate the sowing precision of the Nardi Dora Air drill and compare it with the modern automated systems. The experiment was conducted in Eritrea on a wheat-sown area of around 107 ha. Sowing precision evaluation was based on the tracked routes on a mobile phone using the Locus GIS offline land survey application version 1.17.0. Deviations of the actual working width from the required values were determined from the track records. The movement precision of the unit was compared with the auto-driving systems of the modern driving systems: Autopilot, Autopilot™, AutoTrac™, SteerCommand with GPS7500, AGI-4, GPS PILOT, Autosteer, Auto-Steer, F100 Auto Steer System и IntelliSteer™. An operating speed range of 10-12 km/h provided an acceptable range of the working width. Statistical analysis showed a high level of superiority of GPS-guided seeders over the conventional sowing units. Consequently, the authors recommend using advanced automated technologies in Eritrea.