DESIGN AND EXPERIMENT OF A LONGITUDINAL AUXILIARY SEEDLING FEEDING DEVICE FOR A RAPESEED BLANKET SEEDLING TRANSPLANTER

To address low qualified planting rate caused by inaccurate longitudinal seedling feeding in rapeseed blanket transplanter, a longitudinal auxiliary feeding device was designed. The working principle of the seedling feeding device is elucidated, and mathematical model of mechanics is established. The parameter range of the key components of the longitudinal auxiliary seedling feeding device was determined. A multi-factor test was implemented, evaluating spring tooth thickness (0.2-0.4 mm), height (65-75 mm), and quantity (6-8 units) as independent variables, and the longitudinal compression amount, uniformity coefficient of longitudinal seedling delivery, and qualified cutting rate as evaluation indexes. The test parameters were optimized using the comprehensive scoring method. The optimization results of the regression model derived from the quadratic orthogonal combination bench revealed test that when the thickness of the spring teeth was 0.29 mm, the height was 74.3 mm, and the number was 10, the longitudinal compression was 11.86 mm, the uniformity coefficient of longitudinal seedling delivery was 0.97, and the qualified cutting rate was 91.13%. It was verified that the longitudinal compression was 12.6 mm, the uniformity coefficient of longitudinal seedling delivery was 1.08, and the qualified rate of cutting was 93.6 %. The optimization results of the regression model verified by field experiments showed that the qualified planting rate was 92.35 %, the precision of seedling delivery was improved, and the feasibility of auxiliary seedling delivery device was verified.