ISHS Acta Horticulturae 301: IV International Symposium on Processing Tomatoes
INTA-M N°3 DESIGN: INTRODUCTION OF EXPERIMENTAL IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CUP-FEED DRILL SYSTEM FOR SEED DISTRIBUTION |
| Author: | R.F. Del Monte |
| Keywords: | agricultural mechanization, planters, direct seeding, tomato. |
| Abstract:
The multipurpose planter machine INCA-R N°1 was designed to incorporate the advantages of the direct seeding technique during the establishment period of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) crops in irrigated areas of Argentina. The overall objectives were to satisfy the needs of adoption of improved cropping systems to increase not only the yields but also the quality of processing tomatoes. This machine can perform the following operations simultaneously: ridging, rotary cultivation of the soil, bed shaping, spraying pre-emergence herbicides, fertilizers and nematocide broadcasting, and sowing. For the latter operation, a precision planter based on a cell-feeding belt system for seed distribution (Stanhay®) was adopted. However, the incidence on the overall cost of that device was highly significative. For this reason, efforts were made to reduce the partial cost through the design and development of a new component for seed distribution. The cup-feed drill system was selected as an alternative. The system was technologically improved, and two methods of seed dispensing were evaluated in experiments carried out in laboratory and field. Seeds of tomato (small type) and soybean (Glycine max L.) (large type) were assayed. The cup-feed system had higher variability per sown site than the cell-feed system when tomato seeds were evaluated. Conversely, the cup-feed system was comparatively more efficient when the distance among sown sites and total delivery of seeds were tested. According to these preliminary results, the INTA-M N°3 prototype has potential perspectives to be considered in future developments of commercial planters. | |
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files) | |
