Trend analysis and prospects of seed metering technologies

Abstract: Seed metering can be widely used to deliver the seeds or fertilizers from the hopper at selected rates during planting. However, it is still lacking in the quantitative and comprehensive analysis of the current technology of seed metering devices. In this study, a metrological analysis was systematically conducted on the existing literature on seed metering technology, in order to visualize the research trend, in terms of scientific research productivity, influence, and development power. The development of seeding technology was also summarized from the hot topics in recent years. The agricultural products were introduced from the domestic and foreign advanced agricultural machinery enterprises using frontier seed arrangement technology. Finally, the development trend was proposed from the industrialization application at present. The results showed that the seed metering technology was developed in a high-speed steady state. Much more scientific research output and influence in China were close to that in the United States. The high-impact journals included the Biosystems Engineering, Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, Journal of Agricultural Machinery, and Journal of Agricultural Engineering. High-impact scholars and institutions were focused on the seed metering technology for the typical crops in different regions. As such, the seed metering technology was advanced to upgrade the mechanization level. The development trend of seed metering technology was gradually changed from single-topic research on the realization of functions into the in-depth exploration of vertical subdivision topics, such as mechanism optimization, mechanism analysis, and virtual simulation. The current research hotspots of seed metering technology were focused mainly on high-speed simultaneous seeding, seeding uniformity, DEM-CFD coupling simulation, control, and monitoring system. In addition, the high efficiency and performance equipment can be expected to be further developed in the application of seed metering technology, particularly for the new products of seed metering in the running stage. Emerging technologies, interdisciplinary integration, and innovative thinking can be applied to develop with high speed, performance, precise, digital, and intelligent aspects. This review can provide a strong reference to grasp the research status, development trend, and innovation of seeding machines.