Design and Experiment of a Sunflower Hole Fertilization Planter

In response to the problems of low fertilizer utilization efficiency and increased environmental risks caused by the widespread adoption of band fertilization during sunflower cultivation, a sunflower hole fertilization planter was designed according to the agronomic requirements of the major sunflower-producing regions in China. First, the key components of the planter, including an electrically driven fertilizer metering device, an intermittent fertilization mechanism, and a fertilization system for seed holes, were designed. Subsequently, the effects of the target fertilizer application rate per hole (A), baffle opening time (B), and operating speed (C) on hole spacing error (Y1) and the coefficient of variation in fertilizer application rate per hole (Y2) were analyzed using the Box–Behnken response surface methodology, and the optimal operating parameters were obtained. Finally, experiments were conducted under the optimal operating parameters, namely a target fertilizer application rate per hole of 6.6 g, a baffle opening time of 87 ms, and an operating speed of 4.4 km/h. The results showed that the hole spacing error was 1.78%, while the coefficient of variation in fertilizer application rate per hole was 15.87%. The sunflower planter developed in this study was capable of satisfying the agronomic requirements of sunflower hole fertilization operations and provides a reference for the design and optimization of sunflower hole fertilization systems.