Precision seed drill: what it is for and how it works

More and more farmers and agronomists are moving towards the new frontiers opened by the evolution of mechatronics in agriculture. In the previous articles, Precision Agriculture: from satellite to the earth and How to do Precision Agriculture: Techniques and Components, we told the context in which the so-called Agriculture 4.0 currently operates. In this article, instead, we deepen everything there is to know about precision seed drills.

What is a precision seed drill?

In a nutshell, a precision seed drill is a part of agricultural equipment used to plant seeds according to a certain pre-set logic. It represents an evolution of the outdated volumetric seed drills. Unlike the latter, it allows you to accurately deposit the seed, thus increasing its efficiency (as it avoids wasting precious product) and effectiveness (as it avoids accumulating too much product in a specific area of ​​the field).

What are its components?

The precision seed drill consists of four different elements:

• A hopper - it acts as a large tank where the seeds are stored. Alongside this container, there is an increasing tendency, among agronomists with extensive lands, to have another hopper (this time smaller) that contains micro-granulate. This material is used to carry out specific treatments to the ground (for example, starters or anti-snail treatments);
• The seeding element - a mechanical element equipped with a perforated disc (where the lines and the number of holes depend on the type of seed chosen to be deposited into the soil), which transports the seeds by spacing them. This perforated disc passes one seed at a time, making it descend into the ground (in the terminal part, there is a sensor that controls the actual passage of the seed);
• The furrower - a wedge-shaped tool that acts like a plough and opens a furrow on the ground in which the seed will then be planted;
• The pair of rear support wheels, wheels (or discs) arranged in a V shape, that cover and close the previously created furrow.

What are the benefits?

Thanks to these innovative functions, sowing can be carried out with unprecedented care. As we have already mentioned, it is possible to deposit the seed at a predetermined distance from each other, but also at a certain depth in the soil, all to give the seed the environment and the best condition to grow (avoid the over-population of seeds or the competition between seedlings in a specific area of ​​the field means preventing the plant from growing poorly: for example, if you go to deposit too many seeds close to each other, a vegetable, such as carrots, would grow poorly and could present itself, to the end of its development process, all twisted on itself, with the result that would then be discarded in the selection phase, thus having an economic and ecological waste).

What is the precision seed drill used for and where is it used in particular?

The precision seed drill is used to check the entire sowing process, thus making it more effective and efficient.

The precision seed drill is seen as an opportunity, especially in the large production of corn, rapeseed and vegetable crops, for the substantial economic savings derived from the precise placement of the seed on the ground, which allows, as we said previously, to waste less (both on the side of the material to be sprayed at the beginning and on the final product).

What is the difference between a pneumatic precision seed drill and a mechanical precision seed drill?

While pursuing the same goal, the pneumatic precision seed drill represents an evolution compared to the mechanical one.

The difference between the two agricultural equipment is recorded in the internal structure and in the principle used. In the mechanical precision seed drill, the rotating disc is horizontal, with calibrated holes in which the seeds fall by gravity; in the pneumatic precision seed drill, on the other hand, the disc rotates vertically and the seeds are held in correspondence with the holes through the suction generated by a suction chamber present on the opposite side of the disc.

What are the benefits of the former over the latter?

The main advantage of the pneumatic seed drill compared to mechanical one lies in the greater versatility of use because the precision of the alignment of the grain is not required (for example, in the mechanical seed drill, if the seed is not positioned precisely, it does not fall well into the hole, it gets stuck and risks breaking, while in the pneumatic one, this risk does not exist thanks to the aspiration of the seeds).

What role does Roj Agri-Motion play in the general transformation process from traditional seed drills to precision seed drills already underway?

ROJ Agri-Motion has specialized in the mechatronics sector for about 8 years and offers its customers worldwide, from Europe to Latin America, its experience in the field of motorization and electrification, and therefore motors ready to be used to move both the part of the seed drill and the part of the micro-granulate or fertilizer that is combined with it.

The peculiarity of ROJ Agri-Motion is that it allows you to manage and have control over each electrical element and, therefore, adjust the system's variability, making it much more adaptable to the needs of the agronomist standardizing a relatively heterogeneous system.

To give an indication of the electrification process that is underway, about half of the motors sold by ROJ are installed on pneumatic precision seed drills.

Would you like to know more? Visit https://www.agri-motion.com/en !