Design and experiment of the variable rate fertilization system for soybean and maize strip compound planting

Authors

  • Li Ding College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Kaixuan Wang College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Yechao Yuan College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Yuanyuan Li College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Huanhuan Chen College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Zheng Zhang College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Qianyi Wang College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • Changchang Yu College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China
  • He Li College of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou 450002, China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25165/ijabe.v18i6.9691

Keywords:

variable fertilization, EDEM simulation, soybean corn compound planting, spiral fertilizer apparatus

Abstract

In view of the existing composite planting cannot do independent control of fertilizer rate for each row, and fertilizer is easy to moisture solidification caking and rely on a single way to measure the speed of inaccurate problems, a split-drive variable fertilizer application system was designed for soybean and maize strip cropping composites. It includes roller crushing bi-directional spiral fertilizer discharger, split-drive variable fertilizer application system and ‘GNSS + encoder’ dual speed measurement system. By modeling agglomerated fertilizer particles, discrete element simulation was carried out to analyze the crushing effect. The speed measurement error variation folds of both GNSS and encoder under different speed conditions were obtained through field speed measurement tests. Finally, 4.5 km/h was identified as the switching point between the two speed measurements. Through bench testing, a mathematical relationship model was developed for the soybean and maize belts in terms of ‘Fertilizer Application Rate - Operating Travel Speed - Metering Mechanism Rotor Speed’, and the results are presented in the table below. Fertilizer discharge consistency was verified for fertilizer dischargers. Field trials were conducted, and the results show: The soybean belt had a maximum error of 4.81% at a fertilizer application rate of 150 kg/hm2 and an operating speed of 5 km/h; the maximum error in the corn belt was 4.67% at a fertilizer application rate of 600 kg/hm2 and operating speed of 4 km/h. Both have a maximum error of less than 5%, which meets the requirements for variable fertilizer application. Key words: variable fertilization; EDEM simulation; soybean corn compound planting; spiral fertilizer apparatus DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20251806.9691 Citation: Ding L, Wang K X, Yuan Y C, Li Y Y, Chen H H, Zhang Z, et al. Design and experiment of the variable rate fertilization system for soybean and maize strip compound planting. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2025; 18(6): 122–134.

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Published

2025-12-26

How to Cite

Ding, L., Wang, K., Yuan, Y., Li, Y., Chen, H., Zhang, Z., … Li, H. (2025). Design and experiment of the variable rate fertilization system for soybean and maize strip compound planting. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 18(6), 122–134. https://doi.org/10.25165/ijabe.v18i6.9691

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 6 (2025): IJABE

Section

Power and Machinery Systems

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