Development of High-Speed Ridge Forming Seeder for Soybeans, Adapted to Moist Soil Conditions

—Seeding Performance of Prototype Seeder—

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a prototype seeder for soybeans. Existing seeder which consists up-cut rotary cultivation, ridging, and seeding has been developed. This seeder was working at a slow speed of 0.3 to 0.6 m/s and kneading occurred on wet soil. Testing the developed prototype seeder working speed was 1.6 m/s on dry soil. The prototype seeder was able to work at 1.2 m/s twice as fast as the existing seeder when tested on wet soil with a soil liquidity index larger than 1. The germination rate of the existing seeder decreased because of the crust on the soil surface, whereas that of the prototype seeder was more than 90 %. Thus, the prototype seeder was found to be more adaptable to wet soil conditions than the existing seeder.