Development and test of the magnetic precision seeder for plug seedlings

Precision plug seeding is an important part of modern plant breeding; however, there is a problem with precision plug seeding that arises from the fact that vegetable and flower seeds have a small volume, light weight, and irregular forms. In order to solve this problem a new type of magnetic precision seeder has been proposed and designed by analyzing accurate sowing technology both at home and abroad. This machine sucked up a seed, which has been previously coated with a magnetic powder, by a magnetic head. The number of seeds sucked by the magnetic head, as well as the sowing precision, was controlled by adjusting the magnetic field. The whole machine, which is driven by stepping motors and controlled by a single-chip microcomputer, can work automatically. The test results for cabbage, tomato, and cucumber seeds showed the rate of single seed sowing was more than 90%, while the rate of miss-seeding was less than 5%. This machine allows for higher sowing precision, good adaptability to different kinds of seeds, a simple structure, as well as automation.