Parameter optimization and experiment of the vacuum seed meter with double holes for direct seeding of rice

Cheng Qian, Wei Qin, Youcong Jiang, Zishun Huang, Minghua Zhang, Zaiman Wang, Wenwu Yang, Ying Zang

Abstract


Direct seeding of rice is a green planting technique because it reduces irrigation water and lowers agricultural production costs. A vacuum seed meter with a double hole for rice was developed to improve the planting accuracy of direct seeding and to meet the tiny seeding rate. The key components of the vacuum seed meter were theoretically analyzed and designed. The optimal parameters of the seed disturbance structure were determined by the Box-Behnken test using the quality of feed index (each group of holes is 1 to 2), miss index, and multiple index as test indices. The results of the Box-Behnken test showed that the optimal parameters were a height of the seed disturbance structure of 1.65 mm, a diameter of the upper arc of 98.87 mm, and a central angle of the upper arc of 11.4°. Based on the optimal seed disturbance structure, the effect of the shaped hole structure parameters on the planting accuracy was investigated, and the optimal hole width and depth were determined to be 4 mm and 2 mm. CFD-DEM numerical simulations showed that the pressure gradient force on the seeds was greater than the drag force, and the pressure gradient force and drag force were positively correlated with the width of the shaped hole. When the rotational speed was 60 r/min and the vacuum pressure was 2.0 kPa, 2.4 kPa, and 2.8 kPa, the miss index of the vacuum seed meter with Wuyou 1179 as the test material was 3.52%, 2.5%, and 2.22%; the quality of feed index was 92.41%, 92.13%, and 87.13%; and the multiple index was 4.07%, 5.37%, and 10.65%. For Huanghuazhan and Taixiang 812 rice seeds, the planting accuracy of the vacuum seed meter with the double hole can meet the requirements for direct seeding of rice. This study provides a theoretical basis and design reference for rice precision planting technology.
Key words: rice; direct seeding; seed meter; planting accuracy; shaped hole; seed disturbance structure; CFD-DEM
DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20251802.9335

Citation: Qian C, Qin W, Jiang Y C, Huang Z S, Zhang M H, Wang Z M, et al. Parameter optimization and experiment of the
vacuum seed meter with double holes for direct seeding of rice. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2025; 18(2): 89–99.

Keywords


rice; direct seeding; seed meter; planting accuracy; shaped hole; seed disturbance structure; CFD-DEM

Full Text:

PDF

References


Ren D Y, Ding C Q, Qian Q. Molecular bases of rice grain size and quality for optimized productivity. Science Bulletin, 2023; 68(3): 314–350.

Xing H, Wang Z M, Luo X W, Zang Y, He S Y, Xu P, et al. Design and experimental analysis of rice pneumatic seeder with adjustable seeding rate. Int J Agric & Bio Eng, 2021; 14(4): 113–122.

Zhang M H, Wang Z M, Luo X W, Zang Y, Yang W W, Xing H, et al. Review of precision rice hill-drop drilling technology and machine for paddy. Int J Agric & Bio Eng, 2018; 11(3): 1–11.

Li H Q, Zhao C J, Yan B X, Ling L, Meng Z J. Design and verification of the variable capacity roller-wheel precision rice direct seed-metering device. Agronomy-Basel, 2022; 12(8): 1798.

Li X Z, Dong J F, Zhu W, Zhao J L, Zhou L Y. Progress in the study of functional genes related to direct seeding of rice. Molecular Breeding, 2023; 43(6): 46.

Kumar S, Verma S K, Yadav A, Taria S, Alam B, Banjara T R. Tillage based crop establishment methods and zinc application enhances productivity, grain quality, profitability and energetics of direct-seeded rice in potentially zinc-deficient soil in the subtropical conditions of india. Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis, 2022; 53(9): 1085–1099.

Tao Y, Chen Q, Peng S B, Wang W Q, Nie L X. Lower global warming potential and higher yield of wet direct-seeded rice in central China. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2016; 36(2): 24.

Liu H Y, Hussain S, Zheng M M, Peng S B, Huang J L, Cui K H, et al. Dry direct-seeded rice as an alternative to transplanted-flooded rice in central china. Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 2015; 35(1): 285–294.

Fu W, Zhang Z Y, Zang Y, Luo X W, Zeng S, Wang Z M. Development and experiment of rice hill-drop drilling machine for dry land based on proportional speed regulation. Int J Agric & Bio Eng, 2017; 10(4): 77–86.

Li H, Zeng S, Luo X W, Fang L Y, Liang Z H, Yang W W. Design, dem simulation, and field experiments of a novel precision seeder for dry direct-seeded rice with film mulching. Agriculture-Basel, 2021; 11(5): 378.

Li H Q, Yan B X, Meng Z J, Ling L, Yin Y X, Zhang A Q, et al. Study on influencing factors of hole-filling performance of rice precision direct seed-metering device with hole ejection. Biosystems Engineering, 2023; 233: 76–92.

He S Y, Qian C, Jiang Y C, Qin W, Huang Z S, Huang D M, et al. Design and optimization of the seed feeding device with DEM-CFD coupling approach for rice and wheat. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2024; 219: 108814.

Qian C, He S Y, Qin W, Jiang Y C, Huang Z S, Zhang M L, et al. Influence of shaped hole and seed disturbance on the precision of bunch planting with the double-hole rice vacuum seed meter. Agronomy-Basel, 2024; 14(4): 768.

Ding L, Yuan Y C, Dou Y F, Li C X, He Z, Guo G M, et al. Design and experiment of air-suction maize seed-metering device with auxiliary guide. Agriculture-Basel, 2024; 14(2): 169.

Wang Z Y, Su W, Lai Q H, Li J H, Gao X J. Boundary modelling of the effective suction domain of an air-suction seed-metering device for quasi-spherical seeds. Biosystems Engineering, 2024; 238: 212–226.

Ignaciuk S, Zarajczyk J, Rózanska-Boczula M, Borusiewicz A, Kubon M, Barta D, et al. Predicting the seeding quality of radish seeds with the use of a family of nakagami distribution functions. International Agrophysics, 2024; 38(1): 21–29.

St Jack D, Hesterman D C, Guzzomi A L. Precision metering of santalum spicatum (australian sandalwood) seeds. Biosystems Engineering, 2013; 115(2): 171–183.

Du X, Liu C L. Design and testing of the filling-plate of inner- filling positive pressure high-speed seed-metering device for maize. Biosystems Engineering, 2023; 228: 1–17.

Tang H, Xu F D, Guan T Y, Xu C S, Wang J W. Design and test of a pneumatic type of high-speed maize precision seed metering device. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2023; 211: 107997.

Tang H, Guan T, Xu F, Xu C, Wang J. Test on adsorption posture and seeding performance of the high-speed precision dual-chamber maize metering device based on the seed characteristics. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2024; 216: 108471.

Zhao P, Gao X, Su Y, Xu Y, Huang Y. Investigation of seeding performance of a novel high-speed precision seed metering device based on numerical simulation and high-speed camera. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2024; 217: 108563.

Li C, Cui T, Zhang D X, Yang L, He X T, Li Z M, et al. Design and experiment of a centrifugal filling and cleaning high-speed precision seed metering device for maize. Journal of Cleaner Production, 2023; 426: 139083.

Zhao X, Zhang T, Liu F, Li N, Li J R. Sunflower seed suction stability regulation and seeding performance experiments. Agronomy-Basel, 2023; 13(1): 54.

Degirmencioglu A, Çakmak B, Yazgi A. Prototype twin vacuum disk metering unit for improved seed spacing uniformity performance at high forward speeds. Turkish Journal of Agriculture and Forestry, 2018; 42(3): 195–206.

Yazgi A, Degirmencioglu A. Measurement of seed spacing uniformity performance of a precision metering unit as function of the number of holes on vacuum plate. Measurement, 2014; 56: 128–135.

Pareek C M, Tewari V K, Machavaram R. Multi-objective optimization of seeding performance of a pneumatic precision seed metering device using integrated ann-mopso approach. Engineering Applications of Artificial Intelligence, 2023; 117: 105559.

Karayel D, Güngör O, Sarauskis E. Estimation of optimum vacuum pressure of air-suction seed-metering device of precision seeders using artificial neural network models. Agronomy-Basel, 2022; 12(7): 1600.

Markauskas D, Platzk S, Kruggel-Emden H. Comparative numerical study of pneumatic conveying of flexible elongated particles through a pipe bend by DEM-CFD. Powder Technology, 2022; 399: 117170.

Mori Y, Sakai M. Development of a robust Eulerian-Lagrangian model for the simulation of an industrial solid-fluid system. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2021; 406: 126841.

Zou J X, Zhang R, Zhou F Y, Zhang X Q. Hazardous area reconstruction and law analysis of coal spontaneous combustion and gas coupling disasters in goaf based on DEM-CFD. Acs Omega, 2023; 8(2): 2685–2697.

Xu J, Sun S L, He Z K, Wang X M, Zeng Z H, Li J, et al. Design and optimisation of seed-metering plate of air-suction vegetable seed-metering device based on DEM-CFD. Biosystems Engineering, 2023; 230: 277–300.

Mudarisov S, Badretdinov I, Rakhimov Z, Lukmanov R, Nurullin E. Numerical simulation of two-phase "air-seed" flow in the distribution system of the grain seeder. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 2020; 168: 105151.




Copyright (c) 2025 International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

2023-2026 Copyright IJABE Editing and Publishing Office