A seed drill is an agricultural machine that saves farmers a lot of time and increases yields tenfold. It distributes seeds evenly in straight lines through the soil at a precise rate and at a specific depth.
Choosing the right seeder depends on the area to be sown and the amount of work required. In addition to the surface to be seeded, consideration needs to be given to the type of seed to be sown, the soil to be seeded, and the type of distribution, among other things.
1. What types of planters are available?
A planter consists of a hopper that stores the seeds, a system for distributing the seeds, and a share or disk that can plant the seeds deep. Depending on the size of the farm, the type of seeds, and the sowing conditions, there are three types of machines available: drill drill, burrow drill, and precision drill.
1.1 Drill planters (also known as multigrain, grain, conventional)
The drill is mainly used for seeding small seeds such as grains, vegetables, grass, etc. The commonly used grain drill is used. This type of drill is suitable for regular sowing with equidistant arrangement and uniform depth.
During operation, the seed is rotated by the traveling wheel, and the seed is discharged from the seed cup in the seed box according to the required sowing amount into the seed delivery pipe, and falls into the open trench by the trencher, and then the seed is compacting by the soil covering and crushing device. After the emergence of crops into parallel and equidistant bars. The drill used for different crops has basically the same structure except that different types of seed rows and ditchers are used. It is generally composed of a rack, traction or suspension device. Among them, the main effect on the quality of sowing is the seed discharge device and the trencher. The commonly used seed discharge device has wheel groove type, centrifugal type, grinding disc type and other types. The trencher has hoe type, boot type, sliding knife type, single disc type and double disc type and so on.
1.2 Cave drill
According to certain row spacing and burrowing, seeds into burrowing planting machinery. Each hole can be sown 1 or several seeds, respectively called unit fine sowing or multi-grain burrowing, mainly used for corn, cotton, beet, sunflower, beans and other cultivated crops, also known as cultivated crop seeder. In view of the row-spacing of cultivated crops is wide and needs to be adjusted, the burrow planter often adopts the form of monomer. Each sowing monomer includes a set of working parts, which can complete the whole operation process of ditching, seeding, soil covering and suppression. A number of monomers are installed on the same beam according to the required row spacing, that is, a burrowing planter with different rows and working width is formed, which is matched with tractors of different power levels.
There are many types of seed planter, including disc seed planter, pneumatic seed planter and cotton seed planter.
- The disc type seed planter is to discharge the seeds quantitatively by using the shaped holes or holes arranged at a fixed distance on the rotating disc. According to the requirements of seed size, sowing amount and hole distance, the seed planter with different hole number and aperture is selected, and the appropriate transmission speed ratio is selected.
- The pneumatic seed drainer is a new type of seed drainer developed since the 1930s. It has no strict requirements on the size of seeds, less seed damage, and can adapt to the high-speed operation of 7~10 km/h.
- The seed feeder is used for sowing cotton seed with short wool. It is composed of a horizontal stirring wheel installed at the bottom of the cylindrical seed box and a vertical plectrum wheel located below the seed outlet.
The commonly used trencher of the cave-sowing machine is mostly sliding knife type. In addition, the cave planter still needs to be equipped with the depth limiting device of the trencher, the soil cover device and the suppression wheel and other components, and the corrugated disk for no-tillage stubble sowing, the dry soil shovel for drought-resistant sowing, the pesticide spraying device for disease and insect control can be configured according to the needs.
1.3 Precision seeder (also known as single seed seeder)
Precision seeder is the ideal choice for large and small seeds, with the advantages of saving seeds, eliminating thinning operations after emergence, and making the nutrient area of each crop uniform. Most of them are single-grain burrowing and multi-grain burrowing that controls the number of seeds in each hole. When multi-grain precision acupoint sowing, a hole mechanism is arranged between the seed feeder and the ditch opener, so that the single seeds discharged from the seed feeder are gathered into a number of seed groups in the hole mechanism, and then sown into the seed ditch.
2. How to choose the right planter for different seeds?
Different types of seeds require different planters for proper distribution. We've divided them into two broad categories to help you determine which seeder is best for your crop.
- Winter grains, peas, sorghum, feed crops, and canola
These crops can be easily used with drill planters (also known as conventional planters). It is important to always adjust the seeding rate according to the size of the seeds. The first three types of seeds (winter grain, peas, and sorghum) are bulkier and don't present any dosing problems. The other two, however, are smaller. The planter's metering system can adjust the number of seeds. The aim is to get the best plant density at all times. If the planter is not able to do this, it is usually possible to retrofit the microdosing system on the machine.
- Corn, sunflower seeds and soybeans
The ideal planter for this type of crop is a precision planter because it allows for better distribution between rows. The dispenser disc must be adapted to the needs of each crop.
- Field planters vs. small field planters
If you have a large field and need to sow a large area of each crop, a folding drill, also known as a folding drill, is a good choice because of its large hopper capacity, which increases productivity and increases the area sown per hour.
Tractor suspension planters are smaller, which makes them much more maneuverable. This is an important feature for small farms. This type of planter also has a small hopper to make it lighter, thus reducing fuel consumption.
3. What do you need to know about the type of seed you dispense?
There are three main types of seed distribution, mechanical, pneumatic, and manual.
- Mechanical distribution is more suitable for small and medium sized machines.
- Pneumatic distribution uses air compression to lower seeds into the ground. More precise and easier to adapt to different types of plows.
- Manual distribution is not used for bulk crops, but is suitable for market gardening in greenhouses. Place seeds individually along a row at specific spacing.
4. How well is the seed stored on the seeder?
- A planter needs to be equipped with a storage box, called a hopper, for each type of seed. The tank has a dispensing device for passing the seeds through the pipe. Most hoppers use agricultural large bags for filling.
- Seeders are also equipped with stirrers to prevent seed clogging at the entrance to the distribution system.
- Planters are generally equipped with a share or a disc that can be used to peel away the soil for good seed placement. Other parts, usually toothed harrows or rakes, help to cover the seeds with soil.
- Finally, the planter is equipped with a plotter to guide the farmer in mapping the crop and to mark the end of one channel and the beginning of another.
