Research Status and Prospects of Automatic Leveling Technology for Orchard Machinery

Xue, Guangyu; Peng, Jiwen; Shen, Haiyang; Wang, Gongpu; Zheng, Wenhao; Huang, Sen; Huan, Zihan; Hu, Lianglong; Ding, Wenqin

doi:10.3390/su17125297

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Research Status and Prospects of Automatic Leveling Technology for Orchard Machinery

by

Guangyu Xue

^1,2,

Jiwen Peng

^1,2,

Haiyang Shen

^1,2,

Gongpu Wang

¹,

Wenhao Zheng

^1,2,

Sen Huang

^1,2,

Zihan Huan

^1,2,

Lianglong Hu

^2,* and

Wenqin Ding

^1,*

¹

Nanjing Institute of Agricultural Mechanization, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanjing 210014, China

²

Graduate School of Chinese Academy of Agriculture, Beijing 100083, China

^*

Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Sustainability 2025, 17(12), 5297; https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125297 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 7 May 2025 / Revised: 30 May 2025 / Accepted: 6 June 2025 / Published: 8 June 2025

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Abstract

China’s orchards cover vast areas, predominantly located in hilly regions where the terrain is complex, making mechanized operations difficult to implement effectively. This results in a low comprehensive mechanization rate in the fruit planting industry, severely restricting the development of agricultural mechanization in China’s hilly areas. This article first explains the principles of automatic leveling technology, summarizing the characteristics and suitable application scenarios of different leveling technologies in the context of actual work in hilly orchards. It then provides an overview of the research progress in automatic leveling machinery for orchards from the perspectives of power machinery, operation platforms, and operating tools, analyzing the leveling control schemes of various orchard operation machinery equipped with automatic leveling features tailored for hilly orchard work. This article explores key technologies for chassis leveling, summarizes universal leveling mechanisms and control algorithms, analyzes the numerous challenges faced by the current development of automatic leveling technology for orchard machinery, and offers targeted development suggestions.

Keywords: orchard machinery; automatic leveling; posture control; dynamic stability

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MDPI and ACS Style

Xue, G.; Peng, J.; Shen, H.; Wang, G.; Zheng, W.; Huang, S.; Huan, Z.; Hu, L.; Ding, W. Research Status and Prospects of Automatic Leveling Technology for Orchard Machinery. Sustainability 2025, 17, 5297. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125297

AMA Style

Xue G, Peng J, Shen H, Wang G, Zheng W, Huang S, Huan Z, Hu L, Ding W. Research Status and Prospects of Automatic Leveling Technology for Orchard Machinery. Sustainability. 2025; 17(12):5297. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125297

Chicago/Turabian Style

Xue, Guangyu, Jiwen Peng, Haiyang Shen, Gongpu Wang, Wenhao Zheng, Sen Huang, Zihan Huan, Lianglong Hu, and Wenqin Ding. 2025. "Research Status and Prospects of Automatic Leveling Technology for Orchard Machinery" Sustainability 17, no. 12: 5297. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125297

APA Style

Xue, G., Peng, J., Shen, H., Wang, G., Zheng, W., Huang, S., Huan, Z., Hu, L., & Ding, W. (2025). Research Status and Prospects of Automatic Leveling Technology for Orchard Machinery. Sustainability, 17(12), 5297. https://doi.org/10.3390/su17125297

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