Theoretical and experimental research on sowing rate optimization of grassland drills

Abstract

In this paper, sowing rate optimization of grassland drills consisted in finding an optimum combination between the seed flow of the seed metering device and the drill working speed, in order to achieve the sowing rates required by agro-technique for herbs seeds. It was developed a mathematical model that describes the seed flow variation depending on the working speed of the grassland drill and the active length of the groove cylinders. The experimental research was conducted using a grassland drill with eight metering devices and an automated installation, which simulates the working speed of the drill, collects and weighs seeds from each individual metering device. By using MathCad 14.0, it have been drawn the variation diagram of seed flow depending on active length of the groove and working speed. The comparative study of the variation diagrams based on experimental data and the variation diagrams obtained from mathematical modelling highlighted that the downward trend of the seed flow was observed in 66,67% of the results. Based on the mathematical model presented in this paper, it might be developed an algorithm enabling for fast obtain the optimal combination between the adjustment parameters, in order to apply a desired sowing rate.