Laboratory measurement of seed drill seed spacing and velocity of fall of seeds using high-speed camera system

Due to the individual volumes of fluted wheel metering systems each holding more than one seed, seed drills provide random seed distribution. A prerequisite for the improvement of seed spacing is the fast and reliable evaluation of distribution accuracy in laboratory tests. A high-speed camera system for evaluating seed spacing uniformity and velocity of fall of seeds is described. The performance of the high-speed camera system in terms of seed spacing evaluation was compared with a sticky belt test stand, used as a reference. Identical seed patterns were evaluated applying both methods simultaneously using wheat and soybean seeds. The speed of the metering rollers of the seed drill was set at 10, 20, 30 and 40 rpm and that of the seed drill at a simulated travelling speed of 1 m/s. In general, the high-speed camera system worked well in obtaining the seed spacing and velocity of fall of seeds. In all the tests with the wheat and soybean seeds, the high-speed camera system did not miss any seed. The sowing uniformity of the seed drill as investigated was affected by the speed of the metering rollers. Coefficient of variation of seed spacing, velocity of fall and coefficient of variation of velocity of fall of seeds decreased as the speed of the metering rollers increased. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.