Design and experiment of electrical drive side deep hill-drop fertilization system for precision rice hill-direct-seeding machine

In order to solve the problems of the excessive application of fertilizer and the low utilization rate of fertilizer in the process of rice direct-seeding with synchronous fertilizing, according to the agronomic requirements, a set of electrical drive side deep hill-drop fertilization system for precision rice hill-direct-seeding machine was developed. The omni-directional profiling system was designed by hydraulic self-balance way, and the machine could adapt to the operation environment and accomplish the real-time and automatic adjustment; The design of fertilizer furrow opener was completed by circle function curve, and the opened smooth fertilizer furrow was with 50 mm width, with adjustable depth and at a lateral distance of 30 mm from bud row; The electrical outer slot wheel fertilizer applicator was designed by electrical drive way, which were connected with the electric parts. According to the work requirements, each fertilizer applicator can be adjusted separately, the fertilizer was applied onto the bottom of fertilizer furrow. Field experiments carried out in the Northeast Agricultural University test base in Suihua of Heilongjiang province, with the optimal working condition: machine speed was 2.48 km/h, the seed-metering device and fertilizer applicator both worked at a rotation speed of 29 r/min, the fertilizing depth was 50 mm, qualification rates of seeds and fertilizers in each hill were 86.73% and 87.49%. The fertilizing hill spacing matched seeding hill spacing, the variation coefficients of seeding and fertilizing hill spacing were 17.2% and 16.5%. The broken bud seed rate was 0.31%. During the feasibility experiment, the seed metering device and fertilizer applicator both worked at different rotation speeds such as 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 r/min. Test results showed that fertilization system could be matched with precision rice hill-direct-seeding machine, at the same time the synchronization of ditching furrows, side deep hill-drop fertilization, covering mud, forming ridges and precision rice hill-direct-seeding were achieved. The performance indexes could satisfy agronomic requirements of rice hill-direct-seeding as well as fertilization, so as to provide a reference for the design and evaluation of key fertilization components for precision rice hill-direct-seeding machine. © 2018, Editorial Department of the Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering. All right reserved.