Qiang Gao

To address the problems of high labor intensity, high production cost, low efficiency, and unevenness in the manual seed dressing process of cut potatoes, as well as the poor quality and easy damage caused by the poor adaptability of existing seed dressing equipment, this study designs a drum-type seed dressing device for cut potatoes based on design principles of seed treatment machinery. A kinematic model of the seed dressing process was established, and the process was simulated using EDEM 2024 discrete element simulation software combined with ray tracing. Two indicators commonly used in the pharmaceutical industry were introduced to evaluate seed dressing uniformity: the inter-tablet variation coefficient (CoV_inter) and intra-tablet variation coefficient (CoV_intra). Through single-factor experiments and three-factor, five-level orthogonal rotational combination experiments, the influence of drum speed, spiral guide plate pitch, and feed rate on the seed dressing effect were explored, and the parameters were optimized. The results show that the optimal parameter combination is a drum speed of 32.84 r·min⁻¹, a spiral guide plate pitch of 682.64 mm, and a feed rate of 10.44 t·h⁻¹, at which CoV_inter was 6.33% and CoV_intra was 6.35%. Bench tests verified that the seed dressing pass rate reached 94.1% and the breakage rate was only 0.32% under this parameter combination, meeting the requirements for seed potato treatment in mechanized potato planting. These findings can facilitate the progress of potato-seed engineering and offer theoretical and technical support for the development of mechanized potato seed dressing equipment.

China ranks as the world’s leading potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) producer, while the poor seeding machinery performance limited a higher input–output ratio in potato cultivation and impeded sustainable development. We developed an advanced air-suction mulai-arm potato planter (ASPP) that incorporated integrated side-deep fertilization, automated seed feeding, negative-pressure seed filling, seed transportation, positive-pressure seed delivery, soil covering, and compaction. The study proposes a Negative-pressure seed extraction mechanism that minimizes seed damage by precisely controlling suction pressure, and the near-zero-speed seed delivery mechanism synchronizes seed release with ground speed, reducing bounce-induced spacing errors. Furthermore, the structural configuration and operation principle of ASPP were systematically elucidated, and key performance parameters and optimal values were identified. We conducted a randomized complete block design plot trial comparing the spoon-belt potato planter (SBPP) and spoon-chain potato planter (SCPP), evaluating sowing quality, seedling emergence rate (ER), potato yield (PY), and comprehensive economic benefits. The results revealed that plant spacing index (PSI), missed-seeding index (MI), re-seeding index (RI), and coefficient of variation (CV) of ASPP were 90.05%, 3.78%, 2.32%, and 7.93%, respectively. The mean ER values for ASPP, SBPP, and SCPP were 94.76%, 85.42%, and 83.46%, respectively, with the ASPP showing improvements of 10.93% and 13.54% over SBPP and SCPP. However, the SBPP and SCPP exhibited greater emergence uniformity than ASPP. The mean PY value was 37,205.25, 32,973.75, and 34,620 kg·ha⁻¹ for ASPP, SBPP, and SCPP. The ASPP outperformed the SBPP and SCPP by 12.83% and 7.47%. Overall, ASPP demonstrated balanced and superior performance across the above-mentioned indicators, demonstrating its potential to enable precision agriculture in tuber crop cultivation.

Aiming at the problems of the high multiple- and missed-seeding index and low operation efficiency of current mechanical potato seed-meters in minituber sowing, this study designed an air-suction roller-type minituber seed-metering device for minitubers (mass between 2 and 4 g) in accordance with the agronomic standards for potato cultivation in the single-cropping area of northern China. An account of the device’s structure and operational principle was made, its working process was theoretically analysed, and the three main factors affecting the airflow suction were determined: the seed roller speed, the suction seeding hole diameter, and the air inlet negative pressure. This study adopted the fluid dynamics simulation method and determined that the ideal location of the air inlet was 30° for horizontal inclination and 60° for vertical inclination. Then, based on the CFD-DEM fluid-structure coupling simulation method, the impact of a range of factors on the functionality of the seed-metering device under different conditions was studied and verification tests were carried out. Design-Expert was used to analyse test results. The results showed that when the pressure at the air inlet was −7000 Pa, the speed of the seeding roller was 40.2 r·min⁻¹, the suction seeding hole diameter was 10.37 mm, and the performance was optimal: the qualified index was 92.95%, the multiple-seeding index was 4.16%, and the missed-seeding index was 2.89%. The research results show that the seed-metering device developed under this scheme exhibited satisfactory seeding performance during operation and was able to meet the demands of minituber sowing.